


Cardinal Rules

by Cam719, westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-14
Updated: 2008-11-14
Packaged: 2019-05-15 04:28:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14783589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cam719/pseuds/Cam719, https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A collaboration between Cathy and I. Josh and Donna hook up on Bartlet's second election night and well... stuff happens





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Election Night. 

DONNA’S POV 

Josh kicks the door to his apartment shut and reattaches his lips to mine. It’s been a really long day and a really long night, but I think it’s going to be getting a whole helluva lot better! 

Once the champagne started flowing, things started getting a little out of control. Shots emerged. The girls started making stupid bets. I introduced Josh to Jack Reese, then Bonny dared me to let Larry do a shot out of my belly button. 

After that, I was jerked abruptly into Josh’s office. He said I shouldn’t cross the line like that with a co-worker and then propelled himself over it by grabbing me and kissing me. 

I suppose that theory doesn’t count when massive amounts of sexual tension is involved as in our case. 

I’m flat on my back naked on his couch before I know it, and I’m praying to God that I’m not so drunk that I tell him that I love him. 

That would be bad. This is nothing. This is just two co-workers getting completely drunk and doing something they shouldn’t. It’s two people breaking way too much sexual tension. 

That’s it. 

Right? 

It has to be because I’m never doing this with him again. 

We sit up on his couch and I’m totally naked in his lap. “This is SUCH a bad idea.” I groan as his mouth moves from my neck to my breasts. A moan comes right from my toes, as he pulls a peak into his mouth. 

“Still think it’s a bad idea?” he smirks. 

“Well…not AS bad of an idea.” 

He chuckles and moves to my other breast. 

“Joosshhuuuaa.” I moan as he moves me back to my back. 

“Oh, Donna,” he replies. “Please feel free to say my name like that at regular intervals.” 

“I’m very drunk.” 

“Me too!” 

“You are?” 

“Of course! You didn’t think I’d A) think this was a good idea sober; or B) take advantage of you drunk, did you?” 

“Well, no. Not when you put it that way.” 

“Not that I haven’t thought about this sober.” He says quickly, popping up and looking me in the eye. “I mean, I don’t get drunk and grab the first girl in my vicinity.” 

“Uh-huh.” I say. 

“I don’t!” 

“That’s not what your reputation is. AND you went tearing out of the bullpen in search of those car loads of women.” 

“I didn’t take one of them home with me.” 

Or Amy, thank God, but I keep that thought to myself. Don’t break the cardinal rule of bringing up exes while having sex. Do one night stands actually have rules? 

I’m going to have to find another job tomorrow. 

He returns to my breasts and all thoughts of work, exes, campaigns, car loads of women, are blissfully pushed from my mind. 

I can’t remember the last time my body was this sensitive. All cylinders are firing at full capacity and every nerve synapse in my body is standing at attention and feeling this man’s body against mine. 

It’s really hot. 

He slips his fingers into me and I press a palm to my forehead. Just the thought of any part of Josh’s body inside me causes very pleasant thoughts and at the moment, very pleasant feelings. 

Don’t tell him I love him. Don’t tell him I love him. Don’t tell him I love him. 

“Josh.” 

“Mmm?” 

“That’s really nice.” 

“Thank you.” He says as he moves back to my neck, but his movements and kissing has slowed down a bit from the drunken fervor it was a few minutes ago. It’s languorous, and I give myself total points for thinking up that word right now. 

I bite my lip and throw my head back into the couch as orgasm number one takes me over. 

He’s very impressive. I’ve never had an orgasm before from that. I should have known Josh would have that talent. I open my eyes and he’s looking at me curiously. 

“Nice ride?” he asks. 

I push against his shoulders and turn us over, so I’m on top. “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet, buddy.” 

“Oh, my Lord.” He looks turned on and a little afraid, like I’m about to crack out this equipment he seems to think I have. 

Okay. I DO have some equipment, but we’re at his place, not mine. 

I maintain eye contact with him, as I slowly slide down around him. He’s the first to break it when his eyes roll to the back of his head and slam shut. 

Hell yeah, mister!! 

Damn, I’m drunk. 

“Donna?” He groans, as I slowly start to move. 

“Hmm?” 

“I’m having very naughty thoughts of this and my desk at work.” 

“Don’t be silly, Joshua, you know we can’t do this again after tonight.” If he were looking at me at this moment, he’d probably see the pain in my eyes at that thought. I’m really glad he can’t see it right now. 

“Right.” He says. “That’s too bad.” 

What!? No, he’s just saying that because I’m providing some really amazing sex right now. That’s the building orgasm talking. Time to bring out the big guns. 

He squeaks in protest as I slide myself off of him and begin kissing my way down his chest. “Donna, I’m not a young guy anymore and this is mostly alcohol working here. You better hope your plan works.” 

“I have faith in your virility.” I say huskily as I dip my tongue into his belly button and he groans. 

I kiss my way along his stomach and though I’ve fantasized frequently about it when he complains of stiffness, I intentionally avoid the bullet scar. Things have slowed down a bit from the drunken romp, but I’m not ready to attach that kind of emotion to this. 

So, I turn my attention to a different kind of stiffness. 

“Donna!” he yelps as my lips make contact. “Bad idea.” 

“Why?” I pout up at him. 

“Because it’s just…” he trails off waving his hand between us. “I really wish I didn’t look at you just now.” 

“Relax.” I whisper and blow a light breath up one side and down the other. He groans deeply and falls back against the couch. 

I set back to my task as he starts squirming beneath me and now I’m having inappropriate thoughts of his desk at work. I feel him start to pulse and he grabs me and tosses me back onto my back. He slides back into me and catches my lips in the process. 

My fingers trail lightly up and down his back and I give in a little bit and let my thumb gently graze the bullet scar. But now I’m fascinated by the feel of it, like I’m touching velvet for the first time, and my thumb starts running itself over it in time with our rhythm. 

Josh breaks the kiss and meets my eyes, then slows down again. He holds my gaze for a moment, and I feel it in my chest, and then he drops his head to my shoulder. I think he felt it, too. 

That was bad. There was a connection there. There was not supposed to be any kind of connection. One night stands are all about too much scotch and champagne. 

I dig my nails into his shoulders and bite my lip as I ride the wave of pleasure. He tenses up and whispers my name, so I clench my muscles around him. He pops his head up and looks at me in surprise. 

“Well, that’s nice.” He says with a look of wonder. 

“Never had that?” I give him my best doe-eyed look. 

“Uh-uh.” 

“Too bad.” 

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve ever…” His eyes go wide as we reach the same horrifying realization. 

Not an ounce of protection between us. 

“Uh, Donna?” he squeaks. 

“Yeah, I didn’t think of that before either.” 

“Too much scotch.” 

“Too much bursting sexual tension.” 

“That too.” He says. “You’re on the pill though, right?” 

“Nope.” 

“Okay, then.” He squeaks again. 

“I’m sure it’s fine.” I say. 

“You’re SURE it’s fine?” 

“I don’t have a calendar in front of me, Josh.” I shoot back. 

“Sorry.” 

He drops down besides me and kisses my shoulder, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch and covering us. 

“I don’t want to think about it right now.” He declares in an incredibly irresponsible way. 

That’s okay, neither do I. I snuggle down into his arms. It’s the only time I’ll ever get to enjoy this anyway. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

JOSH’S POV 

I’m awakened out of a very deep alcohol induced sleep to someone vomiting in my bathroom. 

Shit! Donna! 

I pounce off the couch and stop a minute while my head stops spinning. 

I’m naked. 

I’m naked? 

I look around and clothes are everywhere. 

My mind drifts back to the events of a few hours ago and I smile. 

NO! Don’t smile! It’s a one night stand. One does not smile over a one night stand. 

Except I totally knew that Donna would be awesome in bed. Or at least me and her together would be awesome in bed. There was way too much sexual tension between us not to be. 

She hurls again and with a deep sigh, I head to my bedroom. I pull on a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt and grab clothes for her, too. I go back to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. When I return to the bathroom, I see she’s already raided my dresser wearing a pair of my pajama pants and a Harvard t-shirt. 

She looks adorable in my clothes. 

But I can’t think like that. This is a one night stand. This meant nothing. It was just sex. 

Except there were a few moments there when it was so obviously NOT just sex. 

No. It was just sex. 

She smiles gratefully at the glass of water and drains it. Then she rinses her mouth with mouthwash. I very courteously do the same. My head’s spinning a bit, but I don’t feel sick and her color is returning. 

“Thanks.” She smiles shyly. Things are about to get awkward, so I lean in and kiss her. We have to get past awkward. I can’t be awkward with her. I need her to be the same Donna she always is. Perky, funny, chatty, beautiful, efficient Donna. 

Not too freaked out to make eye contact with her boss Donna. 

“Maybe I should call a cab?” she suggests hesitantly. 

“Maybe you should just spend the night with me.” I whisper, pushing her up against the vanity. 

“Josh…” 

“I like it when you say my name the other way.” 

She hops up on the vanity, I think to give us a little distance. 

“We can’t be this way, Josh. We have to forget this night happened.” She says and I can see the sadness in her eyes. But I take note of the way her finger is trailing up and down my arm. These are not the actions of two people who did not just connect during sex. I’ve had one night stands before and I’ve had no problem letting go of the woman afterwards. 

My hand slides to the small of her back and I pull her towards me. 

“I don’t want to forget it.” 

“It was a drunken one night stand, Josh.” 

“Doesn’t mean I have to forget it.” I retort. I can accept the one night stand part. Sleeping with my assistant was not a good idea. Since the day I met her, I have vowed not to be that guy. I should have known I’d never be able to hold out. 

“Josh.” She says, but now her whole hand is running up and down my arm. 

“Why can’t we just chalk it up to being ‘that crazy thing we did that one time?’” 

She cocks her head to the side and looks at me. I love when she does that. “And you don’t think it’ll get weird.” 

“Do you not see me studiously trying to avoid weird?” 

“Fair point.” 

“Thank you.” 

“That crazy thing we did that one time, huh?” she says. 

“I think we can handle that.” I nod confidently. Though I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look at her without visualizing her head in my lap. 

“How about that crazy thing we did TWICE?” she suggests, linking her feet behind my back and trapping me against her. 

Guess her stomach doesn’t bother her anymore. 

“Even better.” I leer before pressing my mouth against hers. 

TBC


	2. Cardinal Rules

Josh's POV: 

There's a loud pounding in my head and I would gladly turn over the not insignificant trust fund in my name to make it stop. I try to hold my head still with my hands, but my hands won't move. Shit. I try to move them again and carefully peer between my eyelids. Big. Mistake. Pain seers through my head and down my spine and the damn pounding Will. Not. Stop. Then I hear a moan. A moan? I'm fairly certain I didn't moan, but there it is again. The moan. If I could just move my hands. 

"Josh?" Donna really shouldn't bug me when I'm so obviously hung over. 

"JOSH!" Son of a bitch. That was loud. And that wasn't Donna. I sit up quickly and discover the reason my hands didn't move before was that they were buried underneath Donna. I realize that, because once I forcibly remove them in my anxiousness to sit up, the result is that Donna rolls across the bed and almost lands on the floor. 

"What the hell?" Okay that was loud and Donna, but I could have sworn… 

"JOSH! Open the damn door!" That was what I heard before; Sam. 

"Just a second!" I shout and then moan again in hangover agony. 

"Oh my God." Donna moans too but I don't think she's moaning for the same reason I am. "Oh my God, Josh. Sam is here!" She's whispering, but she's whispering really loudly. 

"I can hear that Sam is here, Donna, but thanks for the information." I tell her. "God, I feel like shit." 

"I told you to stop after your third, but you wouldn't listen to me." She tells me. 

"JOSH! I need to talk to you. Right. Now!" Sam yells. 

"Can you admonish me later, Donna. Sam's here and it sounds like he needs to talk to me about something; right. Now." 

"Well maybe we should both, I don't know, put some clothes on before you open the door?" she asks. 

"Yeah, that would probably be good." I agree and then my eyes snap open. Put some clothes on? Would that mean that we don't have clothes on now? I carefully turn my throbbing head and see Donna crawling across the bed searching for clothing and she is most definitely naked. Great, now I have to deal with a completely different body part throbbing. "Donna?" I squeak. 

"You'd better answer the door before he pounds it in." she advises. 

"Donna?" I repeat. 

"I'm not answering the door Josh. First, I don't know where my clothes ended up and second, I'm not sure how I'd explain my presence to Sam. Third, I feel like shit. Go answer the door." 

"JOSH! God damn it, what is wrong with you? You don't answer the phone, your pager, or the door; are you sick?" Sam is shouting through the door now as memories of the previous hours come flooding back. Donna. Donna and me. Donna had sex with me. Donna and I had amazing sex. Several times. I know, we agreed that it was going to be that crazy thing we did twice…but then I reasoned that it would make more sense if it was the crazy thing we did that one NIGHT. See what I did there? I changed the word `once' for `one night'. One substitution and the entire context transformed…to my advantage. I'm da man. 

"JOSH!" And Sam is outside my door right now. 

Donna is looking at me with these huge, sad eyes. I can see the wheels turning in her head. She already thinks this was all a monumental mistake. She thinks the only reason we made love was because we were both drunk. She's wrong, but I don't have the time to tell her that right now. 

"Josh!" Sam calls again. The neighbors are going to call the cops. Mrs. Feldman hates loud noises. 

"I'll be right back. Stay right here." I tell her intently even though my head may explode. 

"Like I can walk out of here right now? Naked?" She laughs but it isn't a humor filled sound. And I really wish she hadn't drawn my attention back to the naked part. My eyes skim down her body and I realize, again, how incredibly beautiful she is. 

"I'll get rid of him and be right back." I kiss her quickly but intensely. She still looks sad. Shit. I grab my robe from the back of the bathroom door and quickly fasten it around my waist. "Hold on, I'm coming." 

I take a deep breath and open the door. Sam looks frantic. "Sam? What's wrong?" 

"What's wrong? Everything's wrong. And you'd know everything is wrong if you would answer your phone, pager or door!" 

"Whoa. Slow down. Start at the beginning and do it inside. Mrs. Feldman is going to call the cops with you shouting and banging down doors." I grab him by the arm and haul him inside. 

"You're not supposed to be out of touch. You're the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. You're supposed to be available at all times. Suppose there was a nuclear attack of some kind!" 

"Has there been a nuclear attack of some kind?" I ask tiredly and sit heavily on the couch. 

"I don't think that's the point." Sam tells me. 

"Then what IS the point?" I growl and close my eyes for just a minute. 

"We should be able to reach you at all times." Sam shouts again. 

"Sam?" I ask quietly. "Could you please just tell me what you need, so I can provide it and go back to bed?" 

"I mean usually Donna can get in touch with you no matter what, but she's not answering her phone or pager either." Sam notes. 

"Sam, for the love of God!" I beg him to end my suffering. 

"I have a bit of a problem." Sam admits. 

"That makes two of us." I mutter. "What is the nature of your problem?" 

"I sort of made a deal." Sam states. 

"A deal with who?" 

"With whom." Sam corrects me. 

"You're going to correct my grammar right now? Seriously?" 

"It was a deal with a widow. I made a deal with a widow because I felt sympathy for the widow, which if you think about it, is a perfectly normal response." 

"Are you drunk?" 

"I'm trying to tell you about my problem." 

"No, you're writing a soap opera of some kind." Resigned to the fact that this may take awhile, I get a bottle of water out of the fridge while he follows me around. "You made a deal with a widow…" I shake my head. "Was it a random widow or are you somehow connected to the widow?" 

"It's Horton Wilde's widow." He tells me and then just stares at me. 

"Am I supposed to divine the deal you made with Horton Wilde's widow? And who the hell is Horton Wilde?" 

"Our candidate from the California 47th who died of a heart attack and won the election tonight, er, last night I guess." 

"Oh…Yeah, okay. He won?" I stop in the act of drinking my water. "In the California 47th?" 

"Welcome to the party." Sam says all exasperated like I'm supposed to keep track of every candidate for Congress who drops dead before the election when I've finally managed to make love with Donna…That definitely sounded better in my head. Good thing I didn't say it out loud. I didn't, did I? No, Sam is still looking at me expectantly. 

"So what deal did you make with the widow? Does she want to run for the seat?" I ask. 

"No. She has no interest in that." Sam shakes his head. "I'd just like point out that the odds of Wilde winning in the 47th, of ANY Democrat winning in the 47th, were astronomical." 

"Yeah." I agree. 

"Totally inconceivable." Sam adds. 

"Sam!" I've lost what's left of my patience now. 

"I told her I'd run in the special election if Wilde won." 

He said it so fast I had to repeat it to myself out loud before I got it. 

"You told her YOU'D run in the special election if he won?!" I exclaim a little loudly. 

"The WIDOW wanted a name for election night; just in case the incredibly improbable happened. I told Bailey to give her mine. It was just to be nice. It was a throwaway!" Sam insists. 

"Look who's going to be throwing their career away." I tell him. 

"Josh!" 

"What? You promise to run in a special election in California while you're serving as the Deputy Communications Director to the President of the United States. What were you smoking?!" 

"It was for the wid-" 

"I swear to God Sam, if you mention the widow again I'm going to smack you." I threaten. "Did you give any thought, any thought whatsoever, to what it would cost you personally to run in this race and lose? What about what it costs you professionally? What is costs the administration?" I rant and notice him looking stricken. "What?" 

"You…just assume I'll lose?" He asks. 

"Didn't you just say yourself that the odds of any Democrat winning there are astronomical?" I remind him. 

"Yeah, but that's for normal, unknown candidates who don't have political savants to run their campaign." He notes. 

And the shoe drops. "You want to do this." 

"I'll admit I was pretty freaked at first...but then, after I locked myself in my office, I started thinking…" 

"Oh, God." I know where this is going. 

"I have a higher profile than Wilde did and if I had a very knowledgeable campaign director…" 

"Sam…" 

"Say, someone who was able to get an unknown, eastern, elite, dark horse candidate elected to the Presidency…" Sam sits next to me and I can see the excitement in his eyes. "Would you do it?" 

"Sam, we're exhausted and I don't know about you, but I am severely hung over. We can't be making a decision like that right now." I warn him. 

"Only at the briefing this morning, C.J. is going to get asked if I'm running and if so, is the President endorsing my candidacy. I think she may want those answers soon." 

"She's already cornered you?" 

"You know it. What do I tell her?" I look into the face of my friend and see the hope and excitement there and there really isn't any other answer. 

"We're both going to need to take a leave of absence so we still have jobs to return to after we get our asses handed to us in California." I tell him. 

"Really?" He confirms. 

"Really. Now can I go back to bed?" I ask. 

"Yes, of course. Sorry I woke you. You should answer your phone though." He reminds me. 

"I'll try to remember that." I walk Sam to the door.   
"Don't make any comments. Let C.J. announce that you agreed to run if Wilde won, and that with the President's approval, you intend to keep your word. That's it." 

"Got it." Sam smiles as I shoo him out the door. "This is going to be incredible." 

"It certainly has that potential. Go to bed, Sam. Nobody has to be in at work today until 1." I remind him. 

"I don't think I can sleep now. But I will go home. See you at 1!" He runs down the stairs. Where does he get the energy? I know I'm older than he is, but I still managed to keep up with Donna all night…Donna! 

I return to the bedroom to find Donna asleep again. Good, she needs the sleep and if she feels anything like I do it's better for her to sleep it off. I shuck off my robe and drop it on the floor before I ease carefully under the covers and curl up with her. 

Making love with Donna was incredible; each time. It was a Holy experience. But lying here with her in my arms is equally amazing. Well…maybe not EQUALLY amazing, but it's pretty amazing. We stumbled here by accident with the help of prodigious amounts of alcohol and the unique high that only comes from re-electing your guy President, but now that I've been here, there's no way I'm giving this up. 

It's going to take some serious debate. Donna is sure this shouldn't even have happened. So I'm going to have to first convince her that this wasn't a mistake. Then I'm going to have to convince her that being a couple going forward isn't a mistake. Then, I'm going to have to convince her to come to California with me to help get Sam elected to Congress. Then, I'm going to have to convince her to spend the rest of her life me. No problem for a seasoned pro like me. I should really wake her and start on this plan right away but you should never embark on these things hung over and exhausted. Seriously! It's like a cardinal rule. I'll start tackling it as soon as we wake up.... 

TBC


	3. Cardinal Rules

DONNA’S POV 

“Come on, Donna!” Josh whines in a hushed voice after yanking me into CJ’s den. 

“No, Joshua.” 

“You’re always saying I never take you anywhere.” 

“If I take a leave of absence, I won’t have insurance.” I counter. “I am not independently wealthy.” 

“I’m not independently wealthy.” 

I stop and glare at him, reminding him I know all about his not insignificant trust fund. 

He slides right up to me and drops his voice. “What if I get lonely out there in California?” 

“In Orange County? I’m sure you can find one of your many fangirls to keep you warm at night.” I shoot back. 

“I don’t want them.” 

“Well, you can’t have me.” I say fanning myself a bit. CJ’s apartment is unusually warm today. Must be because the oven was on. I step out of his personal space and move over to CJ’s desk as Josh pushes the door closed. Because THAT won’t be suspicious or anything. 

“Why not?” he asks once the door is closed. 

“Why not what?” 

I know what he’s saying. I’m just trying to avoid the conversation. 

“Why can’t I have you?” 

“We’re not together.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I have a date tomorrow night.” 

“You’re dating!?” 

“Of course I’m dating, Josh!” I huff in return. I’m dating to try and get over him, but I don’t tell him that. That would just make this whole thing way worse. 

“Who?” he immediately demands. He’s got his warface on now. 

“Jack Reese.” 

“Who the hell is that?” 

“Nancy McNally’s new deputy.” 

“The navy guy?” 

“Yes.” I reply like I’m tired of the conversation. I AM really tired though….and my stomach’s a little upset. “Did you think the stuffing was cooked all the way?” 

“Yes.” he huffs. “You didn’t say anything about dating.” 

“I didn’t think I needed to. That was all going to be that one crazy thing we did that night. You said it yourself. You said we could handle it.” 

“I’m starting to think I can’t.” 

“It’s becoming very obvious that you can’t.” 

“Donna, you’re all I can think about.” 

“Well, stop. Think about Sam’s campaign.” 

I try to ignore the light-headedness creeping up on me. I’m getting the flu now? I’m going to be sick for Thanksgiving weekend? This sucks! Add to that that he’s flying back to California and I’ll be sick by myself! Where the hell is the fun in that? 

I can’t tell him this, but he’s all I can think about, too. Every time I look at him, I want to devour him. He’s got a fantastic body. I want to run my tongue along… 

I broke the cardinal rule. Well, one of them. Never get attached to your one night stand. I mean, it’s not like I’ve had a string of one night stands, but I have had casual sex before. I’ve never had a problem letting go of the guy. I had no problems when I couldn’t see Cliff again. 

The room starts to spin, so I sit down. 

“This is ridiculous.” Josh pouts dropping onto the futon CJ has in here. He fingers a picture on the desk. It’s him, Sam, me and CJ at a fundraiser during the first campaign. He had it in his office and I assume he’ll put it back after the special election. I always wondered if Amy or Mandy got bothered by that picture in his office. He’s never had pictures of them in there. Granted, Sam and CJ are in that picture too and Sam’s his best friend, but I’m his assistant. I sit outside his office. What would he need a picture of me in there for when he can walk right out to look at me? 

I think it’s because things are a little more serious than we let ourselves believe. That picture is also on my desk. I don’t know about Josh, but Sam and CJ are the cover for me being able to put that picture on my desk. I think it would be a little weird for a girl to have a picture of her and her boss on her desk at work. Who wouldn’t think those two people weren’t sleeping together? And they’d be right in this case, if Josh had his way. 

I really miss him being here every day with me. Even though he’s being a total child right now, he’s being a child because he wants to be with me. I can’t let that happen though, even though there’s nothing I want more in the world. I can’t ruin everything he’s worked for. 

What we did was stupid. Plain and simple. 

I’ve had three one night stands in my life, including him. His is by far the most devastating. 

“Donna…” 

“Don’t start.” 

“Donna, you don’t look too good.” 

“I don’t think the stuffing was cooked all the way. CJ should have called the President’s Butterball hotline.” 

“You look green.” 

“Hey,” CJ greets popping in. “We’re getting ready for desert. Everything okay in here?” 

“CJ, did you cook the stuffing inside the turkey?” Josh asks, still eyeing me up critically. 

“No. Don’t tell the President.” She looks over at me and her eyes widen. I must look pretty bad. “Oh my God, Donna, are you okay?” 

“Yes.” I say quietly. 

“Are you sure?” CJ demands. 

“Why don’t I take you home?” Josh suggests popping off the futon. 

“I think that’s an excellent idea.” CJ says. She disappears out of the office and Josh comes to my side and pushes my hair out of my face. 

“Please tell me you don’t feel as bad as you look.” He says softly. 

I look over at him and my eyes widen in horror as I feel the bile rise in my throat. I push past him and make it to the garbage can just in time for my stomach to completely empty itself. 

Josh looks incredibly disgusted as I sit on the chair at CJ’s desk, and he pushes my hair away from my face. 

“Donna, honey, are you all right?” he asks softly. 

My eyes are finally able to focus and I stare blankly at a calendar blotter on the desktop. The dates are going in and out of focus. My stomach settles and I begin to study that calendar closely. 

I begin to count backwards from today’s date. 

Oh. 

My. 

God. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DONNA’S POV 

Please be negative. 

Please be negative. 

Please be negative. 

“DONNA OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!!” Josh pounds on my bathroom door. Thankfully, my roommate left yesterday to spend the holiday with her family in Nebraska. 

There’s a plus sign. 

“DONNA!” 

Who even lives in Nebraska anymore? 

“DONNATELLA MOSS!” 

I’m pregnant. 

And it’s Josh’s. 

No, it’s my boss’s. BIG difference there. 

“DONNA!” 

I unlock the door and he practically falls through it. 

“Well?” he demands. I hold the stick up for him to see. 

“Does that mean you’re positively not?” 

“No.” I say flatly. 

“I see.” Is all he can muster up to say. 

I look up at him and he seems to be trying to wrap his mind around the situation, trying to form a strategy. But you can’t strategize this. This is a baby. This is a boss knocking up his assistant in a drunken stupor. This is not Donna is hopelessly in love with her boss and pregnant with their child, whom they will raise together and adore. 

This is the end of Josh’s career. 

And I did it. 

With too much scotch and champagne I did what some people in this town have been trying to do his whole career. I’ve completely destroyed the man I love. 

“Donna…” 

“Don’t Josh.” I say moving from the bathroom to my bedroom. 

“Don’t what?” 

“Don’t start spouting off things you don’t mean. Don’t start making promises you can’t keep. Go back to California.” 

“Are you kidding me!?” 

“No.” I say tonelessly. I can feel my heart harden. In order to save him, I have to break his heart. How can anyone be expected to do that? 

“Donna, wait a minute. There are many options here.” He says. 

“I only see one.” I reply crawling onto my bed. Maybe I can hide from the whole thing under the covers. 

“Donna, we can work something out.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Josh.” I laugh. My voice is unrecognizable to me, and from the look on his face, him too. “I’m not keeping this baby.” 

TBC


	4. Cardinal Rules

Josh's POV: 

I have been a Democrat all my life. I'm proud of our platform…well, most of it anyway. I'm proud that it's my party that champions the rights of everyone and believes the Government has no business involving itself in the decision between a woman and her doctor. 

Except that now that it's my woman and her doctor, I feel quite a bit differently about the whole thing. Talking about a fetus in the abstract is one thing. This is a baby. Donna and I made a baby and although the circumstances are less than ideal, I want this baby with every fiber of my being. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm scared spitless at the idea of being a father; I'm usually the one still acting like a kid. I can't even imagine the reaction of the President or Leo, God…Leo, if I had to tell them that Donna was pregnant with my child under these circumstances. They'd both be so disappointed in me…and that would only be the personal repercussions. The professional fallout for me, Donna, and hell even the President would feel the heat. C.J. would be asked endless questions about the morality in the Bartlet White House and have to defend Donna from being called horrible names. 

I've tried to keep thoughts of my parents out of my head too. Mom is always going on and on about how she wants grandchildren. How can I ever hear her say that again and not think she could have had one if I hadn't screwed things up so badly. Dad would…I don't know what Dad would say, but he wouldn't be happy with the direction this is going in. 

Still, I don't feel like I have a right to force my will on Donna. She's the one who has another life growing inside of her. It has to be her decision. I just wish to hell this wasn't the decision she came to. Sam and I are heading back to Orange County after our lovely Thanksgiving weekend with our friends in D.C. He's counting on me to figure out some miracle on ice ending to this special election and I can't concentrate enough to read the op/ed he handed to me. I should be back in D.C. I want to be back in D.C. But Donna insisted that I leave and if she doesn't want me there… 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam's POV: 

Something is off with Josh. There was this weird tension with him and Donna this past weekend. No, not the usual kind of Josh/Donna tension. This was different. And it was uncomfortable at times. Donna didn't even come to the airport to see us off. He's blown me off though, every time I've tried to bring it up. I think he was really hoping she'd take a leave of absence too and join us in California. Thinking back, this is the first time they've been apart for any appreciable amount of time. Not seeing Donna every day may lead my friend to some realizations he should have come to years ago. He may look back on all this one day and thank me for helping him find the true   
meaning of his relationship to Donna. I smile at the thought. Then I decide to prod him a bit because…well, that's what we do. 

"It was good to see Donna yesterday." I note. 

"Uh-huh." He ignores me and continues to read the op/ed I printed off before we left for the airport. I am undeterred. 

"I mean, it was great to see everybody, but Donna has always been special." I add. 

"Uh-huh." He is studiously avoiding me now. 

"Was she feeling any better this morning?" I ask. 

That gets his attention. "What do you mean?" 

"When you saw her this morning, was she feeling any better?" I clarify. "She looked pretty sick on Thanksgiving." 

"Uh-huh." He's back to ignoring me again. 

"I hope it's nothing serious." I tell him. "Maybe some time in the California sun would put some color back in those pale cheeks." 

"Her alabaster skin burns when she goes to alifornia." He replies. It's an odd sentence, but since it's the longest one I've gotten out of him today I decide to expand on it. 

"There are good sunscreens for that. Call her when we get there and invite her out here again." I suggest. 

"No." 

Well that didn't work very well. "I'm just saying that the two of you are used to working very closely together and maybe the reason behind her recent malaise is that she's missing you. I hear you have that affect on women." I tease and his head snaps up to me. 

"Why- Will you just shut up about Donna?" He hisses and I blink in surprise. 

"Uh…sure…" I look out the window a minute trying to think why inviting Donna to California would cause my best friend to nearly take my head off. 

"Sorry, Sam." He says in a muttered tone, but still manages to do the trick. When a guy goes out on a limb and apologizes to another guy, the second guy has to accept the apology; it's a cardinal rule.

"No, I'm sorry. You take a leave of absence from your job, traipse across the country, and leave Do-…all your friends behind to run my campaign. I shouldn't have pushed you." 

"It's okay. I'm just a little stressed." Josh admits. 

"Did Holcombe's report look that bad?" I try to distract him. 

"Holcombe is a putz." Josh tells me…again. There is no love lost between them, but Josh took him on as Deputy in order to appease the California Democratic leadership. 

"What did he do now?" I ask falling back on the more comfortable topic of political campaigning. 

"He pissed me off." 

"And how did he do that?" 

"By not doing exactly what I asked him to do when we left California." Josh explains. 

"Which was?" 

"Absolutely nothing." 

"You told him to do nothing and he instead decided to do something." I summarize. 

"Yes. Exactly. I told him it was a holiday weekend and that we should stay out of the news cycle and he decided to make a decision about that on his own." Josh nearly spits. He simply hates Scott Holcombe. 

"He really shouldn't have done that." I agree. 

"No, he's really lacking both the authority and the intelligence to make that call." Josh decrees. "So, hotshot Holcombe decides he's going to respond to some dimwitted anchorman's commentary on Saturday and what happens?" He tees it up for me. 

"It gets into the Sunday news cycle?" 

"It does. It gets into the Sunday news cycle. Half-ass Holcombe couldn't make his big, important decision on Friday, where things would be dumped in the Saturday news cycle; no! He made sure it will be perused over every Californian's lazy Sunday as they return from their lovely holiday weekend." 

"But if the coverage is good, isn't that-" 

"The coverage isn't good, Sam. The dimwitted anchorman was bemoaning your dismal chances in this race, but at least he was portraying you as a decent candidate. Instead of letting that sleeping dog lie, horrible Holcombe demands an apology from the guy and quotes some outlier poll that has you within reaching distance of your opponent. Then the news agency is forced to defend it's dimwitted anchor by publicly and repeatedly showing every other poll in the galaxy   
that indicates we are NOT within reaching distance of your opponent…on a Sunday." Josh repeats. "I'll bet you all the cash in your wallet that it gets national press attention on the Sunday shows today." 

This is a very safe bet for Josh because not only does he live and breathe politics, but he also knows I carry more cash than I probably should in my wallet and he never carries any. 

"I'll talk to him." I sigh. I'm not looking forward to that conversation. 

"No, you will NOT talk to him." Josh counters. "That is not your job, that is my job…unfortunately for me." 

I'm about to make a smart aleck remark about relieving him of that position when it occurs to me; what if he wants to be relieved of that position? 

"Josh?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Are you having second thoughts about running the campaign? I know I kind of forced you into it…" 

"You didn't force me into anything." He returns his attention to something he's pulled from his backpack. I should really buy the man a briefcase. 

"I kind of did. If it's too much or, not where you want to be right now, it would be easy enough to announce the President needs you back in D.C." I offer. He meets my eyes so I know he's serious. 

"And leave you to the mercy of Holcombe the horrific? Inconceivable." Josh smiles, but it isn't his real smile. Not that it's insincere because it isn't. But it isn't his full faced, dimpled smile that makes his eyes…okay, that's just not sounding right. What I mean is that this isn't what Josh looks like when he's truly happy. And now that I think about it, I haven't seen that expression since the night of the election. What is going on with my friend? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donna's POV: 

Birthdays have always been a big deal in my family. When you are a member of the Moss family and it's your birthday, you are treated like a proverbial King or Queen. The only part of the birthday tradition that I hated was the part where my mother would recite, in great detail and with no little exaggeration, the story of when she was pregnant and gave birth to me. Now, I'm thinking she may have been downplaying it. 

I have done nothing but barf for the last two weeks. I can't keep anything down; nothing. I've lost eight pounds and I'm thirsty all the time which is especially awful because when I give in on the thirst front, I promptly regurgitate whatever I've just had to drink. This, if I had had any doubts to begin with, would be enough to prove to me that Josh Lyman is a walking/talking curse. 

No, that wasn't fair. I'm obviously at least half responsible for my present condition, but it's equally obvious that it's Josh's difficult genes causing this terrible morning sickness. What's more is that I can't tell anyone the cause of my recent bout of constant throwing up and the one person I COULD talk to about this is in California trying to raise Lazarus from the tomb so I am completely alone in dealing with this. 

Josh calls frequently. He sends emails. He asks how I'm doing which is code for, "Have you done it yet?" I haven't. I should. I'm going to. I am! I just haven't yet. I've been so damn sick and exhausted all the time. Plus trying to keep the DCOS office running without an actual DCOS is a little time consuming. 

"Donna, have you seen…Donna?" C.J. calls my name again. 

"Sorry, C.J., I zoned there for a minute. What do you need?" 

"The file on DOD expenditures? I got a question on it in the room today and I wanted to check on it personally." 

"Danny Concannon?" I tease. 

"I forget who asked exactly." She lies to me, but she does it with a straight face and you've got to admire that in a person. 

"Here; take a look." I hand her the file and she sets her cup of coffee on my desk while she opens it to look at it's contents. I get one whiff of the brew and my whole body convulses just before the vitamin water I drank earlier makes a recurring appearance. 

"Donna?!" C.J. screeches. I wave her off when she moves toward me. 

"Better not get too close. I can't shake this flu." I give her a weary smile, but it doesn't seem that she believes me now any more than I believed her earlier. Without another word she leaves the bullpen and a couple minutes later returns with a cold wash cloth and places it on my neck. 

"Why don't you go lie down on my couch for a little while? You look like you could use some sleep." 

"I have tons to do. I can't take a nap, C.J." 

"Donna, you haven't been well for awhile and ever since Thanksgiving-" 

"C.J., please." My eyes implore her not to ask questions I can't answer; please! 

"We'll cover for you. Go take a nap for a bit. Go." She insists. 

I get shakily to my feet and follow her directions; mostly because I don't think I can sit upright much longer. My head barely hits the couch and I'm out cold. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Josh's POV: 

She's not answering her cell phone, so naturally I'd think she's caller ID'ing me, except for the fact she's not answering her desk phone either. This is not normal, not for Donnatella. She always answers her desk phone. I'm not sure how she manages that but she always does. Except for now. My heart starts jackhammering when I consider the reasons why she might not be answering either her cell phone or her desk phone. 

She could have been in an accident and unable to answer either phone. 

She could have, as Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff, been pulled into a sit room meeting where she'd have no access to her cell or desk phone. 

She could have been ushered into the bunker after a nuclear threat was discovered where she'd have no access to her cell of desk phone. 

Or…she could be at an appointment that I really wish she weren't at. 

I pick up the phone to try again to reach her. 

"Josh, we need your approval to run the new ad and we need it before 4." Kelly, my California assistant, comes barreling into my office. "Have you looked at it yet?" 

"It sucks." I note while I dial Donna's cell again. 

"So you looked at it." 

"Didn't have to, Kelly." I tell her. "I'm that good." 

"So you're just dismissing it out of hand simply because it was Scott Holcombe's idea?" she guesses. 

"I've never needed more than that before." Donna still isn't picking up. 

"But you said we wanted to increase the ad buys. What are we going to fill them with?" 

"I haven't decided yet, but-" I interrupt myself with a brilliant idea. "I'll call C.J." 

"The Press Secretary will do an ad for Sam?" Kelly asks. 

"No, not C.J. for this thing, C.J. for the other thing." I start dialing another number. 

"Josh, Scott said he's got me scheduled for a thing tomorrow night, but I thought you had me doing a one on one with the L.A. Times." Sam walks in all ruffled. 

"Just a second." I instruct him. 

"Ad buys…" Kelly sing songs. 

"Just. A. Second." I clip off to her. 

"This isn't working for me." Sam announces. "You and Scott, not talking or coordinating is making a mess of things." 

"I have bigger problems than that right now, Sam." I tell him and nearly jump when I get ahold of C.J. "C.J.! Have you seen Donna? Is she there? I can't reach her." 

"Relax, mi amore. She's here with me and she's just awaking from a nap." C.J. informs me. 

"A nap? Donna doesn't take naps. She certainly doesn't take naps in the middle of the day at the White House." 

"Would you like to explain how what I said is impossible or would you like to speak to Donna and confirm the information for yourself?" C.J. is laughing at me now, but I don't care. Donna is there. 

"Uh…the second thing." I reply quickly and soon I hear the sleepy voice of Donnatella Moss. This, in turn, makes me remember the last time I heard Donna's sleepy voice and it elicits an entirely different kind of reaction. 

"Josh? What's wrong?" She asks. 

"I just couldn't reach you. I got concerned." 

"Josh…" 

I can hear the warning in her voice. She thinks that someone else is going to think that my concern is inappropriate…or at least an overreaction. You followed that, right? 

"You've been pretty sick. Anyone would be concerned about your illness, and the cause of it." I reply. 

"It's not unusual for a flu bug to hang on like this." She says in the code we've developed. 

"I was concerned that the bug may have been gone and that's why I couldn't get in touch with you." 

There's a long pause at the other end. I can hear my heart beating inside my chest. Then I hear her ask C.J. for a minute alone. I hear a door shut in the background and then Donna's back. 

"No, it's not gone. I made an appointment with my doctor for two weeks from today. I'm sure I'll be feeling better after that." 

Shit. Damn. Son of a bitch. 

"Ah-kay." I see the bewildered looks on the faces of Sam and Kelly and turn my chair around so I don't have to look at them anymore. "I need to be back in D.C. around then." 

"Josh…no." 

"You were there for me when I was…sick." I reply mindful of my audience. "I'd like to be there to help you when you're not feeling well." 

"Josh." Her voice is very quiet and I have to strain to hear her. "That's a very bad idea for a whole host of reasons and you know it. I'll be fine." 

"Of course you'll be fine, you just shouldn't have to be alone." 

There's another really long pause. "There's really no other choice." She finally responds. 

I want to shout at her that of COURSE there's another choice. There are SEVERAL other choices. But I've got Sam and Kelly standing here waiting for me to make important decisions and Donna is on the other side of the country well out of my reach. I'm incredibly depressed that in two short weeks all options will be gone. I don't know what else to say. I, Joshua Lyman, don't have the words I need to make this end the way I want. 

"I need to go. I'll call you later?" I ask. 

"You don't have to." She tells me and I laugh shortly. 

"I'll call you later." I change my words from a question to a statement and hang up the phone before I scream. 

Sam is looking at me strangely. "Everything okay?" 

"Donna's still sick and her doctor wants to run some tests." I lie straight to his face. 

"Kelly, can you excuse us for a minute?" He asks my assistant. 

"4 o'clock, Josh." She reminds me and I nod. Sam waits until she shuts the door behind her. 

"What's going on?" Sam asks point blank. 

"Nothing. Holcombe's ad sucks. I need to come up with something else by 4." 

"I think that may be problematic for you." 

"Why?" 

"Because your head isn't in the game." I blink in surprise at the harsh tone. 

"Are you unhappy with how I'm running things here, Samuel?" 

"I think the campaign appears to be unorganized and without a clear message. I think that's due in part to the civil war you've got going on Scott and also because you're not focused on what's happening here." 

Insulted now, I stand up and walk around my esk. "This campaign didn't have a snowballs chance in hell from the moment you made a promise to a grieving widow. Yet, I left my prestigious White House job, moved out here, and got you within 8 points in 5 weeks time. You think someone else can do better, feel free to hire them on." 

Sam looks at me like I'm an alien. Maybe I am. I don't feel like myself right now. 

"That wasn't what I was suggesting." He says from between clenched teeth. 

"Then you stick to what I tell you to do and I'll run the campaign." 

"Then run it, will you? Stop fighting with Scott. Fire him or work with him, I don't give a damn which option you choose, but choose one of the above." He slams out of my office and after my blood pressure returns to normal, I know what I have to do. I get online, and all by myself, make a plane reservation to D.C. in two weeks time. A man doesn't blow off his responsibilities when the woman he loves is going through the most difficult decision of her life; cardinal rule. 

TBC


	5. Cardinal Rules

JOSH’S POV 

As I stumble up the steps to my apartment, I can’t help but think I haven’t been this drunk since election night. Apropos, don’t you think? I’m just as drunk the day I made the child as the day Donna got rid of it. It’s kinda like a full circle thing. 

And profoundly depressing. 

Thus, my drinking most of a bottle of scotch tonight. 

I have finally discovered what actual soul-killing despair feels like. I should be happy I’ve hit this milestone in my life, right? 

But I realized in my stupor that Donna just handed me an opportunity. It was one thing to try and keep working with her after our one night stand, it’s totally another to work with her after she got rid of my child. 

I shouldn’t think of it like that. I should distance myself from that. I can’t possibly have feelings for someone I’ve never met. Stanley would probably tell me to think more medically, like terminated the pregnancy. 

Stanley! There’s a good idea! I think I might call him later…tomorrow. 

Anyway, Donna handed me the excuse to get away from her and out of Dodge. She opened the door for me to leave and stay in California after the special election. But on the other hand, I don’t know if I could ever be away from her. 

She purposefully scheduled her appointment today so I wouldn’t be back in time to go with her. Was she having second thoughts? I’m just as much a part of this as she is. You may not know this about me, but I’m a very opinionated man. If it’s an issue, I’ve got a steadfast opinion on it. I am Pro-Choice. I’m a democrat and a friend to the working woman, of course I am Pro-Choice. 

Or I thought so up until now. I realize that it’s pretty easy to pay at lip service until you’re standing in the middle of the issue yourself and realize that you wish to God you could use the argument that it was illegal. I wonder how far a case like this could get in court. I wonder if I decided to sue Donna for the baby, how far I’d get. It’s my baby, shouldn’t I be allowed to have a say in if it dies? 

But I couldn’t do that to Donna. I couldn’t cause her an ounce of pain. She made this decision unilaterally on the fly, but once she decided, she was resolute. I can forgive her one day, what I can’t do is cause her pain. I can’t say, “No, Donna, you have to do this because I’m the man and I say so.” I’d like to be able to say that though. But I can’t send her through the physical and emotional trauma. I know physical and emotional trauma. I don’t want Donna ever to. 

I just couldn’t get through to her. I should have flown back sooner to try to convince her in person, but I don’t think it would have done any good. So, I figured if I couldn’t change her mind, I’d at least be there with her for it. 

It’s a good thing I don’t celebrate Christmas because this is a crappy Christmas present. 

Did you ever have one of those moments when you were drunk when a situation required you to sober up quickly and amazingly you did? 

That is happening to me right now as I get to the top of the stairs and see Donna sitting on the floor, leaning up against my door in hysterics. She’s sobbing she’s crying so hard. I’m helpless as I watch the tears fall out of her big blue eyes. 

I try my best not to feel anything right now. This is the woman that just ripped out what was left of my heart. 

But she must not have done a good job, because it doesn’t work. Please don’t look at me like that, Donna. 

I kneel down next to her. “Donna.” I say softly and draw her into my arms. If I remove myself personally from the situation, I could probably appreciate a little more how she must feel right now physically. Though in my research, I just found that she would really just exhibit flu like symptoms and be a little sore. 

Kind of scary how easy it is for a person to hide an abortion. 

“I’m sorry, Josh. I’m so sorry.” She clutches me like she’s hanging over a cliff and I’m the only thing keeping her from falling. 

“Let’s go inside.” I whisper. I can’t summon the strength to tell her everything’s going to be okay. 

She lets me pull her to her feet and I stumble a bit. I am, after all, still physically drunk, if not mentally any longer. I unlock the door and step across the threshold, but she doesn’t follow me right away. 

“I couldn’t do it.” She whispers from her spot in the hall. 

My head snaps around to her. “What?” 

“I couldn’t do it, Josh. I couldn’t go through with it.” 

“Oh my God.” 

I yank her into my apartment and close the door quickly. 

“What do you mean?” I ask. I want to be absolutely sure before I latch onto this little ray of hope I see. 

“I got there, and I filled out the paperwork, and I even got back into the room, and I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry! I know I’m a democrat and I’m supposed to be pro-choice…” 

“That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to make the other decision, Donna!” I laugh. I can’t help it. The heavy weights have been lifted from my shoulders since she told me she wasn’t keeping the baby. I feel almost like I’m in zero gravity. 

“I’m sorry! I know I should have discussed it with you first before I just decided unilaterally to change our lives…” 

“Donna.” 

“…but I just couldn’t do it. Just the thought of it made me throw up and I’m scared. I’m so scared, Josh.” 

“Scared of what?” 

“That you hate me now! That you think I’m trying to trap you or I have all these expectations.” 

“I don’t think you’re trying to trap me.” I laugh. I’m not actually finding any of this amusing. I’m just so damned relieved right now that it’s just this reflexive reaction coming out of me. 

“I’m not.” She quickly tries to assure me. “And I don’t expect anything from you.” 

“That’s too bad; I’ve got a lot to give.” 

“Josh, don’t joke with me right now.” 

“Who’s joking?” 

“What?” 

“I’m not joking.” 

She pauses and studies me for a moment. “Why are your eyes so glassy?” 

“I’m a little drunk.” 

“Why?” 

“I didn’t want you to do it.” 

“Oh Josh,” she coos, bringing her hands up to my face. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I didn’t want to be that guy that shackles you to something you didn’t want.” 

“It’s your baby, too, Josh. You didn’t think you had a say?” 

“My baby is in YOUR body, Donna. You know, there’s feminism and all that, Roe versus Wade.” 

“I wish you would have said something.” 

I actually DID try to say something on many occasions, but with the code talk on the phone and the constant interruptions, my actual feelings on the subject didn’t really resonate. 

“I preferred to brood to my scotch.” 

“Which makes it a little hard to talk to you right now.” 

“I sobered up pretty quickly when I saw you crying on my doorstep. I have most of my wits about me right now.” 

“I need all of your wits.” 

“I’m good to go.” 

“Josh, I didn’t go through with it.” She says again. 

“Yes, and I’m surprisingly ecstatic about that.” 

“That means you and I are about to have a baby, Josh.” 

“About to? Not tonight, right?” 

She gives me her exasperated sigh and rolls her eyes. “Joshua, we have an enormous amount of things to talk about now.” 

“I realize that.” 

“Not the least of which is the Deputy Chief of Staff is having a baby with his assistant.” 

“God, Donna. Don’t impersonalize it like that.” 

“That’s a glaring complication in this plan.” She says. “Josh, I have to leave my job.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Not have her there with me every day? I don’t think so. 

“Josh…” 

“I’m not entertaining that, Donna. And the cold hard truth of it is no one is going to hire a woman who almost immediately will have to take a maternity leave. And you need the insurance.” 

“How do you know I’m not going to get fired?” 

“I’m not going to fire you.” 

“Leo might.” 

“Leo will transfer you. He’ll fire me before he fires you.” 

“Then where does that leave us?” 

“Me with a lot of time on my hands.” 

“Josh!” 

“Donna, do we have to plan out everything now?” 

“Yes!” 

“Oh, we do?” 

“We need a plan, Josh! This is a baby!” 

I smile slowly and pull her into a hug. “It’s mine and your baby.” 

I suddenly realize I’m hugging the mother of my child and everything feels…very different. I pull away and look at her. I see the mother of my child and she looks…very different. Something weird is happening to me right now. She doesn’t look like the same Donna. Am I just drunk? 

“What’s wrong?” she justifiably asks. 

“Nothing. I just…” I take a step back. 

“Josh?” 

“Nothing, I’m getting a feeling that…” 

You know what? I don’t think I can tell her this. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. Do you want to sit down?” 

“Sit down?” 

“Yeah. Relax, put your feet up.” 

“Put my feet up?” 

“Isn’t that what pregnant women have to do?” 

“You realize that I’m only like eight weeks along here.” 

She thinks I’m losing it. I don’t blame her. 

“I think we have a lot to learn together.” I say to her, moving to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. Why is it everyone just assumes water will cure anything? 

“You mean it?” 

“Mean what?” 

“The together thing.” 

“Of course.” I say returning with the glass and handing it to her. “Donna, if I was devastated by the thought that you weren’t going to keep the baby, did you think that now that you are, I’d say, ‘Good to know, name it after me’ and be on my way?” 

“I don’t know.” She shrugs, looking down into her glass. “Men sometimes do that.” 

“Not this man.” 

“Men like high profile politicians who get their assistants pregnant and don’t want to be the center of a scandal.” She continues. 

“Can we please stop with that for tonight?” 

“Josh, that’s what turns us doing this together into us not doing this together.” 

“We’re doing this together, Donna, so knock it off with the scandal talk.” 

“It’s a very real concern.” 

“I know it is. But right now, before we get to the superficial stuff, I think you and I need to formulate a plan for us having and raising a baby, first, don’t you?” 

“Yeah.” She smiles slowly at me. 

I look at her and feel humbled by the thought of what’s going on inside of her right now; what too much scotch and champagne did and how with the words “I couldn’t go through it” my entire life changed. Everything that means anything to me is embodied in the woman sitting on my couch. 

I’m about to break a cardinal rule: Never pick a girl over your buddy. 

I think I need more scotch. 

TBC   
(You feel better now, don’t you?)


	6. Cardinal Rules

Lie still, it will pass. Lie still, it will pass. Lie still, it will- Nope. I make a sprint for Josh's bathroom and barely make it in time to throw up a lung…well, that's what it feels like, anyway. 

"Donna?" Josh groggily joins me on the bathroom floor and presses my head to his chest once the worst of it passes. "The joys of pregnancy, huh?" 

"You should hear my mother's stories." I manage while my head spins. "She'd make this look like a walk in the park." 

His hands move up and down my back. "You've lost some weight." 

"That's pretty typical at this point in the pregnancy." Once we came to some mutual understandings about keeping and raising the baby together yesterday, we started doing some research online. I'd already done a little, and I suspect Josh did too, but this was the first time we were able to do that together and it felt wonderful. This feels wonderful too…not the morning sickness; that is the worst. But all through this, I haven't had anyone to hold my head, or rub my back while I got sick. I hadn't realized just how lonely that had made me feel until now when I have Josh with me. 

Of course he's going to have to go back to California on Monday, but for today and tomorrow, he's all mine and I'm going to take advantage of that fact. I gingerly get up and rinse my mouth out at the sink. Josh leans over to flush the toilet. 

"Donna!" He nearly shouts and it startles me. "There's blood in there. You're throwing up blood." 

"It's just because my stomach is empty and I've been throwing up so much. Once some of this blows over, I'll be fine." I assure him and give me a smile. He doesn't look very assured but takes the hand I hold out for him and we walk together to the living room and cuddle on the couch. 

"I've been thinking…" He starts out and I steel myself for the latest Lyman brainstorm. "I think you should move in here with me. You shouldn't be alone right now." 

"So you think it will be better for me to be alone in YOUR apartment while you're in California, than for me to be alone in MY apartment while you're in California?" 

"That's the other thing I was thinking about." He admits. 

"No." 

"You haven't even heard what I'm thinking and you just shut me down?" He says incredulously. 

"You weren't going to suggest you quit Sam's campaign and stay here with me?" I ask. 

"Yes, I was, but you didn't know that when you just unilaterally said `no' just then." He argues. 

"I really did." I pat his cheek in mock sympathy. "You're actually incredibly predictable." 

"I think I could come up with more than a few political opponents who would debate that fact with you." 

"I'll amend my remark. You're incredibly predictable to ME." 

"I guess I can't argue with that." He mutters. 

"You can, but you shouldn't." I point out and kiss him warmly. "You gave Sam your word. He's counting on you. You have to go back to California." 

"But that was before we knew about the baby; before we decided to have the baby." He counters with not a little logic. 

"The special election is in February. That's just 7 weeks away. I'll barely be out of my first trimester. You're not going to miss anything except some morning sickness. You need to go back to California." 

"Donna-" 

"You promised your best friend and there's nothing you can do here for me anyway." 

"I can hold you when you're feeling sick." He says softly, and it echoes what I was feeling just minutes before so precisely that it brings tears to my eyes. 

"That is a nice bonus." I admit and kiss him again. "But I'll be over this morning sickness soon and Sam needs you more than I do right now." 

I can tell Josh isn't sold yet, but he lets it drop for now in favor of moving back to the original topic. "Then the least you can do is move in here while I'm gone." 

I laugh. "And again I ask why?" 

Josh shrugs. "It's in a better neighborhood. It's closer to the White House…and I'll just feel better knowing you're here." 

"You can be so sweet sometimes." I remark. 

"Only sometimes?" 

"Don't push it Joshua." I move closer to him. "I've missed you so much." 

"I've missed you too." He tells me and I take that as my cue to show him just how I've missed him. Another side effect to pregnancy hormones seems to be increasingly amorous feelings. I slip my hands under his t-shirt and kiss him so that there's no misunderstanding my intentions. He meets me halfway at first, but then breaks off the kiss and removes my hands from his body. 

"Whoa. You've been pretty sick, Donna. You should try to get something in your system and rest right now." 

"You're in my system, Joshua." I pout and for the first time in recent memory, the pout doesn't seem to work. 

"Let's just…I'm going to go out and get you something decent to eat. In fact, I'll get a bunch of groceries so you'll have some choices." 

"We can go together." I tell him and move to get up. If he's insisting I eat and rest rather than ravish him at the moment, at least we can spend some time together shopping. 

"No. You stay here and relax. I won't be gone long." He kisses my forehead and after slipping on some sweats, heads out the door. 

*************************************** 

After making a fool out of myself at the grocery store (it involved my asking random women what they liked to eat when they were suffering from morning sickness) I think I'm armed with enough comfort food to feed an army of pregnant women. If my refrigerator and shelves are filled with stuff for her to eat it will be that much easier to get her to stay, right? Then maybe I can get her to revisit the issue of me staying in D.C. instead of returning to California. 

When I walk into my place, I see her sound asleep on my couch, my afghan tucked under her chin. The woman I love, our child growing inside her, sleeping like a child herself on my couch. Yeah, it makes quite a   
picture. I've heard about pregnant women glowing, but now I can say I've seen it for myself. This miracle is happening inside her and all I can do is watch from the sidelines. 

Wait. Not true. I can take care of her. Make sure she eats right and gets enough sleep. So I decide not to wake her and quietly put all the groceries away. Then I get online and start responding to the hundreds of emails waiting for me after only neglecting them for 12 hours. You'd think I was still DCOS looking at my inbox! 

Donna doesn't so much as twitch for a few hours and when she does finally rouse; it's to run to the bathroom to throw up some more. This time I meet her there with 7 up and saltine crackers. 

"Try just a couple bites of the cracker. It's supposed to help." I offer. She looks at me incredulously. "I got a little advice." 

"Where did you get this advice from?" 

"Various women in my local grocery store." I admit. She shakes her head at me but she takes one of the crackers, so I'm calling it a win. "See how helpful I can be?" 

"You're da man." She tells me and rubs my cheek with her palm. 

I shrug. "I'm da Dad, now too." We both pause a moment to let that sink in. 

"You're going to be an awesome Dad." She says sincerely. 

"You think so?" 

"I really do." 

"Then come to California with me and let me practice while we work on Sam's campaign." I'm not above begging at this point. "Please?" 

"We can't do that, Josh." Okay, that wasn't the answer I was hoping for but she did say `we' which is a hell of a lot more than I had 24 hours ago. "I need to have my job and more importantly my insurance. Then there's the fact that we're having a baby together and no one that we know, knows that. I'm not sure right now is the best time to share this news, either." 

"What are you so worried about?" I ask. 

"Oh, I don't know…" she drawls. "Your job, my job, the President's approval numbers, the front page scandals, Sam's campaign, my family, your family, the rest of the staff's reaction-" 

"Stop. Just stop." I implore her. My head is going to explode. "We can't factor all that into our decisions. We need to start with what's best for us and our baby." 

She looks shocked at my declaration. "You're right." 

"I am?" I confirm. "Yes, yes I am. So let's start with that. I say what's best for us and the baby is for us to be together; either here or in D.C." 

"But I can't give up my job right now-" she holds up her hand to stop me when I try to interrupt. "And even if I could, I'm not well enough to travel or work a campaign. Until I get past this morning sickness I'd be more of a hindrance than a help to you. You can't stay here because your friend needs you and you gave him your word." She reasons. "The only thing that makes sense for right now…is for me to stay here and for you go back to California; just until after the special election. Then I'll be through my first trimester and we can decide who to tell and how to tell them at that point." 

"IF I agree to this, we start telling people when the special election is over." I negotiate. 

"If you lose your job because of this-" 

"I'll quit my job if it stresses you out so much. I'll get a job in the private sector and then whatever we do is nobody else's business and doesn't reflect on anyone else." I offer. 

She bursts out laughing and I'm a bit insulted. "What? I will!" 

"I know you mean that now, but you could never give up working in politics. It's too much a part of you. It's in your blood and you'd hate me later for making you give it up. I don't want you resenting me or this child for losing the career you love." 

"I know what my priorities are, Donnatella, and the first items on that list are you and this baby." I tell her emphatically. 

"I believe you. I'm just not sure leaving the White House is the best way to take care of all of us." She pauses. "We have some time to think about it. We don't need to make any decisions this second." 

"There's something else we should talk about." I begin not sure how she'll react to my next topic. 

"I'm not talking about marrying you right now, Joshua." She tells me quietly. 

"Would you STOP doing that?" You're freaking me out." I complain. "We need to talk about it soon, Donna. I want this child and his or her mother to share my name and my life, not just my apartment. And I'd like you to note how often I tried to convince you to continue our relationship before I ever imagined there was a baby in the picture." 

"So noted." She smiles. "And I'd like you to know that the only reason I refused at the time was that I thought I was protecting you." Now it's my turn to smile. 

"So noted." My cell phone rings and I see that it's Sam so I take the call. "Hey, what's up?...Have Kelly email a copy to me…No, I can't come back tomorrow…I told you I had important business to take care of here, I'll see you Monday morning. I'm catching the 6 am flight out of here which, believe it or not, has me landing at 7:30 am there…Sam, I get that you're stressed about this, but it's not that big a deal…I know it's your name on the ballot, but that's only fair since you made the deal with the widow…Take a deep breath and maybe a shot of something alcoholic…I can't Sam. I would if I could but I can't…Sam, I'm begging you here…Look, I've got to go, have Kelly email me the stuff and I'll get back to you later." I hang up the phone with a sigh and notice Donna smiling sadly. 

"You need to go now, don't you?" 

"No. No, I don't." I refute. "You heard me tell Sam I would not be back until Monday." 

"I could also hear Sam wigging out from all the way over here." She comments. "It's okay. This is your life right now. You can go." 

"THIS is my life right now. YOU are my life right now. I'm going back on Monday like we originally planned." I repeat. "Right now, I have some chicken broth for you to try." 

"Chicken broth?" 

"I have it on good authority that it soothes the stomach and provides much needed proteins and vitamins." 

"This good authority being a stranger at the grocery store?" She mocks me. 

"A stranger who also happens to be a mother of SIX, Donna. Surely a woman who's been through this SIX times knows some of the tricks of the trade." 

"Even if she may not be very familiar with birth control." Donna mutters. 

"I really don't think we're in any position to mock anyone else about birth control, Donna." 

"Fair point." She acknowledges and tries some of the broth once it's heated up. 

******************************************** 

Josh tried so hard and I think he took it more than a little personally when I threw up the broth, crackers and 7 up. I myself, am ready to make a deal with the devil to make this stop. By 2 am it's nothing but dry heaves but my body won't quit trying to vomit up something. I end up asleep on the bathroom floor which is where Josh finds me around 4 am. 

"Baby, why didn't you wake me up if you were sick?" he asks through a yawn. 

"Because there is no sense in both of us being exhausted. Go back to bed." I tell him. 

"Nuh-uh." He shakes his head and plops down on the floor next to me. "I think that it's time for us to exert a little authority over this child." 

"You do? Just how do you plan to go about this?" I ask chuckling even as I feel my stomach rolling again. 

"I'm going to explain that this behavior is very detrimental to both of us…okay, mostly you, and that he or she should cease and desist immediately. I'm a very persuasive and authoritative guy." 

"Then by all means, please proceed." I graciously agree. 

Then he does the funniest thing. He stretches out on the floor so his head is next to my stomach and begins to lecture our child. "Listen up kiddo. This behavior of yours is making your mom very, very sick…and it's very unsettling for me too. So, you're going to stop it this instant and give your mom a break. She needs food and sleep to keep you healthy so let her get some. Cardinal rule; when someone is providing you with food and shelter, you should treat them very, very well. Also, if you could manage to make labor short and relatively painless, I'm sure your mother would appreciate it. Now, go to sleep so your mom can go to sleep too." 

To my amazement, my body stops the convulsing and I can take deep breaths again. "Wow. You're really good." 

"I'm da Dad." He smirks. "And da Mom looks pretty pale and shaky, so I'm going to give her a lift back to bed." He swoops me into his arms and carries me back to the bedroom. If I hadn't already given my heart to this man years ago, I would give it to him in this instant. 

He holds me until we both fall asleep again. When I wake up, around 10 am, it's from hunger pains. I carefully extricate myself from Josh's arms and walk quietly out of the bedroom. I grab a couple crackers from the package he bought me yesterday and munch away. I'm on my second cracker when I feel the familiar sensation and run for the bathroom. 

I lose the crackers, but my body doesn't stop there. I keep vomiting and soon it's nothing but blood…gross. I can't tell if it's the sight of all the blood or the lack of food for so long that makes me light headed but I definitely feel faint. I take two steps toward the bathroom door and grab onto the door frame. 

"Josh…" My voice comes out so quiet and weak. There's no way he heard me. I have to try again. "JOSH!" Then my whole world goes black. 

***************************************** 

I'm not sure what wakes me, but I sit straight up. I look at the clock and see it's 10:18 in the morning. I can't remember the last time I slept so late. But then Donna and I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Donna! Where's Donna. I call her name but get no reply. Is she sick again? I get out of bed and walk toward the bathroom. That's when I see her passed out on the floor with blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. I run to her and try to rouse her but she doesn't respond. I don't know where I get the inspiration from but I grab the phone and dial 911. 

"Please send an ambulance right away. My…(Assistant? no. Girlfriend? No…) fiancé.. is unconscious and she's been vomiting blood…She's pregnant and she's been sick but when I woke up just now I found her passed out on the bathroom floor…No, it doesn't look like she hit her head on anything, please just send the ambulance…You're God Damned right I'll stay on the line until it gets her! What should I do for her?..." The 911 operator gives me instructions and I swear it's a couples years before the paramedics arrive and take over. 

The ride to GW is one of the longest in my life. Donna still hasn't regained consciousness and some of the words the paramedics are tossing around are pretty scary. They're asking me questions about my fiancé and it takes me a moment to realize they're talking about Donna. I'd forgotten the white lie I told about being engaged to Donna. I don't think she'd appreciate me making that up either, but if she's so unhappy about it, let her wake up and say so. 

Once we get to the ER, things pick up even faster and more people swarm in to help Donna, which would be fine with me except that they force me farther and farther away from her. I keep asking these medical   
professionals for information but they keep claiming they don't have the answers yet. 

Finally, some middle school student, who claims his name is Doctor Adams, tells me my fiancé is suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, anemia and a few other things thrown in that don't sound very good. 

"It's the morning sickness." I explain. "She can't keep anything down; not even water or crackers." 

He nods all understanding. "That happens sometimes in the first trimester of pregnancy, but this has gotten significantly worse than we'd typically see in a pregnancy of an otherwise healthy young woman. Your fiancé doesn't have any other health issues?" 

"No. She's normally very healthy." I assure him. "This just started when she got pregnant." 

"Okay, then we're going to assume this is morning sickness gone very bad for the time being. We're going to get Donna on some IV fluids and get her a nice cocktail consisting of all the vitamins and minerals her body needs right now along with an anti-nausea drug so she can keep it all in her system. She's also going to need a transfusion and we'll need you to sign permission for those measures. I assume that you have the authority to do that and that you're willing to do that." 

"Yes, whatever she needs." I'm probably breaking several laws at the moment, but I also don't care. I sign where the kid points. Can you tell me…I mean, with all of this…" I wave my hands around the ER. "Is the baby…?" 

"So far, the baby is doing fine, but at this stage of pregnancy, it's a delicate balance between what the baby needs and what the mother needs." 

"Yeah…okay." I accept his answer and take a seat next to my `fiancé'. I hold her hand in mine and don't let go, even when they move her upstairs after they've admitted her. 

***************************************** 

God, I feel crappy…but not nauseas. Hmmmm…that's odd. I need to get up and try to convince Josh that I can take care of myself and he can go back to California. I open my eyes and try to focus, but this does not look right. I'm pretty sure Josh doesn't have medical machinery in his bedroom. Nor does he have an IV pole with IV bags attached to them. What the hell? Suddenly someone squeezes my hand. 

"Donna?" Josh's voice is all gravely and he hasn't shaved lately because his face is all scruffy. 

"Josh? What's wrong?" I ask because he looks so sick. 

"You're okay. You're at GW. You passed out at my apartment and an ambulance brought us here." 

Suddenly, everything comes back with amazing clarity. "Oh,God! The baby?" 

"Shhhhh…the baby is okay." He tells me and I believe him because I could tell if he was lying to me. "You just lost a lot of blood and got really run down and dehydrated with all the vomiting. They're giving you IV fluids and a blood transfusion to get you back on your feet." 

I can't help the tears falling down my face. 

"No, don't cry, Donna. You're safe and the baby is safe. Just concentrate on that." He reminds me and I nod since I'm unable to speak. Then another though occurs to me. 

"We're at G.W.? G.W.???" 

"Being that is was the closest hospital, yes, we're at G.W." He confirms. 

"Oh, my God, Josh, you have to leave." I tell him. 

"Right, because I'm probably missing a sporting event of some kind on TV right now. I'll just head home." He rolls his eyes at me. 

"I'm serious Josh. You could be recognized. You WILL be recognized. It hasn't been that long since the election and you were all over the airwaves doing spin." 

"So?" 

"So, somebody is going to recognize the DCOS and wonder what he's doing at the hospital. Then they're going to find out he took an ambulance ride to the hospital with his pregnant assistant!" 

"Fiance." He corrects me. 

"What?!" 

"I may have told them, purely in the interest of getting you medical treatment and getting me information about your medical treatment, that we are engaged." He admits and my eyes bug out. I can feel them bug out. 

"What have you done?" I screech. 

"I made sure you got emergency medical treatment so you and our child would stay alive." He snaps at me and I start crying again. "Shit. I'm sorry Donna. I didn't mean to yell at you, I swear. I was just so scared and now I'm just so exhausted…Please…let's just concentrate on getting you back on your feet now, okay?" 

"You should go home, Josh, to get some sleep." I tell him sadly. 

"And just leave you here? I don't think so." Josh sits back in the chair next to my bed defiantly. 

"And if a story comes out of this?" I ask him. 

"Then it does." He shrugs. "One thing at a time. First, we get you healthy and that means rest and nutrition." 

"You need sleep too, Josh." I remind him. 

"Then slide over and we'll take a nap together." I hesitate for just a moment before I move over and we fall asleep wrapped together in my hospital bed. 

Josh's POV: 

It turns out what Donna has been experiencing has a name besides plain old morning sickness. It's called; Hyperemesis gravidarum, which is apparently a fancy Latin term for horribly bad morning sickness. Where is President Bartlet when you need him? Anyway, option A is to try to control it with some dietary changes, antacids, and more rest. If that doesn't improve things and allow her to gain some weight back then she'll have to go on to option B; bed rest so she can be on an IV, etc. Believe me when I say that no one wants option B. 

This is all by way of saying that it's been a long 24 hours on an incredibly emotional roller coaster ride. That's the excuse I make when I finally remember to turn my cell phone back on and find several messages from Sam and the campaign team. I have to call him and tell him I'm not going back to California; at least not today. Donna made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone about the pregnancy so my choice of excuses are rather limited. 

It's the middle of the night in California, but I want to make this call now while Donna is sleeping upstairs in her hospital room and she won't notice my absence. 

"Lo?" Sam answers on the first ring. 

"Sam, it's Josh." 

"Josh? It's like 3 am here. Why are you- Why didn't you answer any of my messages yesterday?" he demands. 

"I didn't get the messages until just now. Look, I'm not going to be able to make my flight out this morning." 

"What? Why not? Are you okay?" Sam WOULD ask about me first. Now I feel even worse about lying to him. 

"I'm fine. There's just…an emergency came up and I can't make my flight this morning…or like for the next day…or two…" 

"Josh, I'm only half awake right now. Do you think you could refrain from talking in riddles?" 

"It doesn't matter. I just can't get back there today and I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to get out. Look, I'll call you tonight when I have a better idea -" 

"What the hell are you talking about? We're in the middle of a special election fight. We're supposed to meet with the election committee at noon to discuss the debate. Did you forget about that?" 

Actually, I did. Fear of losing Donna and the baby kind of pushed everything else out of my mind. "I'm sorry, Scott will have to handle it." 

"You're sorry?" Sam repeats and he sounds pissed. "You take off for the weekend without warning or explanation and now you're canceling your return trip without giving me any indication why or when you WILL be able to come back." 

"I AM sorry, Sam, but this is important." I try to convey the importance of my mission here with the tone of my voice, but it seems to be lost on the Democratic nominee for Congress. 

"So is this." Sam argues. "You promised me you'd run this for me. I wouldn't ever have agreed if you hadn't promised me we would be doing this together." 

"Please! You agreed to do this long before I ever heard of the deal with the widow, and you never consulted me until it was a done deal being announced on CNN." I shout. "Now I'm stuck with a `no chance in hell' campaign that I'm expected to place above everything else in my life." 

"You agreed to run this `no chance in hell' campaign so if you don't like the deal you made you have no one to blame but yourself." He shouts back. "Or is it simply that the incredible political ego of Josh Lyman can't handle the thought that he might lose a race?" 

"Screw you, Sam. Screw you for even thinking that." My voice lowers but my intensity does not. 

"What else am I supposed to think? It's obvious you haven't been concentrating on this from the start. You pick fights with Scott Holcombe every chance you get and when the new polls came out last Friday, you suddenly have to make an urgent trip back to D.C. If you're looking for an excuse to bail, Josh, look no farther. You can just bail." 

"I have never bailed on you in my life." I refute. 

"Really? Cause it looks to me like you just did." Sam shoots back. "Don't worry about a return flight to California, Josh. Scott will take over from here." 

The pain and hurt, layered on top of my physical and emotional exhaustion, finally pushes me over the edge. 

"Good luck to both of you. You're seriously going to need it." I hang up with a satisfied click. 

Looks like my problem of how and when to return to California has been solved. 

TBC


	7. Cardinal Rules

“Hey.” Josh says popping his head into to my cubicle. 

“Hey.” I smile up at him. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Um…I’m working.” 

“Why are you walking around?” 

“I’m filing.” 

“We talked about overexerting yourself.” 

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.” 

“Why don’t you go lay down for a little while?” 

“Where?” I ask. 

He glances over in the direction of the communications bullpen and then back at me. “Huh.” 

“Yeah, too many questions in that direction, buddy.” 

“Home.” He says simply, but I know he means HIS home and not my home. I bust out laughing. “What’s so funny?” he demands. 

“It’s 3 o’clock!” I laugh. “You’ve been gone for two months, Josh!” 

“So, did I relinquish my boss status in that time?” 

“No! You got incredibly behind.” 

“You didn’t.” 

“No, but I can’t leave at three. Did you forget my little stint in the hospital?” 

“Nobody forgets when their heart stops beating.” 

His words shake me to the core and I drop the file I was holding in an involuntary reaction. I look up at him stunned. I can tell he knows exactly what he was saying and still chose is words very carefully. “They don’t.” He shrugs simply. 

“I know.” I whisper. We hold each other’s gaze for a moment before I finally break away. 

Josh and I are in a very weird place right now. We’re on an emotional super rollercoaster and things are evolving in a very strange way. 

For instance, we seem to be together, yet he doesn’t touch me. He does, but not in the way he did on election night. He’ll kiss my forehead, stroke my hair, hug me, give me a quick peck on the lips, but that’s it. 

I don’t get it. What gives? Shouldn’t we be having sex? Sex we can remember? This is the man I am in love with and I’m pretty sure he’s in love with me. He stayed by my bedside at the hospital. He broke the cardinal rule for me of letting a woman come between a guy and his best friend. Don’t you think he’d want to, I don’t know, at least see my breasts? 

“You could go downstairs.” He suggests. 

“By myself in the dungeons of the White House?” 

“Ainsley’s down there and what’s his name.” 

“Commander Reese?” I arch a brow at him in question. 

“Um…well, the couches aren’t by his office.” 

“They’re not by anyone’s office.” I say and sit down. I am feeling a little tired. Being pregnant is pretty physically draining. 

He looks around in a very un-covert way at all the people bustling around the bullpen. Everyone is busy doing their own thing, and ever since Josh’s return, they all avoid him anyway. He hasn’t been in the best of moods since his falling out with Sam and his scare with me in the hospital. 

“Want me to come down with you for a little while?” he asks dropping his voice and taking a step towards me. 

I smile slowly up at him and he smiles back. “Okay.” 

I stand up and walk with him out of the bullpen. If anyone were paying attention to us, we’re probably a funny sight. We usually walk a lot closer than this and a lot faster, but we’re a few feet apart, and we keep looking over at each other, smiling and looking away. It’s kinda goofy. 

But this is why I get so confused. He is obviously happy with me. Why isn’t he trying to get me into bed? Am I reading him wrong? Is it actually possible that I’m NOT as tuned to him as I think I am? 

“Why do you look like you just won something?” I ask him skeptically. 

“I did.” He gloats. “You’re going to lay down.” 

“Well, we leave early tomorrow morning for California. I should probably get as much rest as I can.” I say as we start walking down the steps. 

“You’re not going to California!” he laughs. 

“Why not?” 

“You know why not.” 

“I can fly!” I retort. We head down the deserted corridor towards the conference room where all the MS strategy sessions were. It’s just as eerie now as it was then. “I’ll be on Air Force One with the First Lady.” 

“I don’t care if your obstetrician is flying on that plane, YOU are not.” 

“You’re not the boss of me!” 

“Yes, I am!” 

“Not like that!” 

“Listen,” he says stopping abruptly and tugging me to him by the elbow. “we decided we were doing this together. I have just as much say in this baby as you do…” 

“Uh…guys?” 

Holy. Shit. Someone’s down here. 

We slowly turn our heads to see Ainsley peeking out of a doorway. 

“Hey, Ains!” Josh squeaks. “Whachya doing over here?” 

“My office was moved when the new guy came.” She says. 

Awkward! 

“Oh, that would have been good to know.” Josh nods a little dazed. A very uncomfortable silence falls over the three of us. 

“Listen,” Ainsley starts, as Josh says, “Ainsley.” I’m having a hard time mustering any words right now. 

“Look, it’s none of my business.” Ainsley says quickly. “I just wanted to let you know I was down here.” 

“Yeah, but it’s not what you think.” Josh says quickly. 

“Really.” Ainsley doesn’t buy it. 

“It’s probably exactly what you think.” Josh cringes. 

“Mum’s the word, really.” She says and makes a big show of buttoning her lips up. 

“But I think we should explain…” Josh starts again. 

“I think we can leave it alone right now.” I pipe up and both Josh and Ainsley look over at me in surprise. “Ainsley, nobody knows. I mean NOBODY. Josh, Ainsley is the very soul of discretion. She’s a lawyer, she works for the White House, she gets it. When I’m not so…I don’t know… I want to go home right now, and so maybe we can regroup and talk to Ainsley about it later.” 

“You don’t have to talk about anything! I’m going to forget I heard it and go back to work. Notices to produce! I’ve got boxes and boxes of document requests and witness lists, and I’ll be tied up in here for years!” She disappears into her office and closes the door for good measure. 

Josh and I look at each other. By the look on his face, you’d think that it was Danny who heard all that and not Ainsley. I blow out a long breath and press my fingers to my temples and Josh ushers me quickly to a bench in the hall. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah.” I nod. “That was bad.” 

“But it was just Ainsley.” 

“But we weren’t careful, Josh! We started arguing and someone overheard us. Yeah, we got lucky that it was Ainsley, but it could have been a reporter, Leo, CJ.” 

“Donna, please calm down.” He says rubbing my back. “I’ll talk to Ainsley later and I’ll tell her everything. I’d rather her know everything than have half the information.” 

“I have to go to California, Josh.” I say pleadingly. 

“No way.” He shakes his head 

“Josh!” 

“Donna, you realize I can just deny it as your supervisor, right? There are plenty of people I can pull from if I need something.” 

“I have to talk to Sam.” I say earnestly. 

“Why?” 

“He’s your best friend, Josh. This can’t affect your friendship.” 

“It already has. He didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt. He convicted me of a crime I didn’t commit.” 

“You didn’t explain it to him.” 

“We’re not talking about any of this here, Donna.” He says firmly and stands up. “I’m going to take you home.” 

“Josh!” 

“Didn’t we just get a harsh lesson in not being discreet? Let’s go.” 

I huff dramatically but stand up and follow him. It takes a little while to actually get out of the building, neither one of us are ever able to walk from point A to point B without getting stopped multiple times. Plus, I have to check the messages, shut down my computer, and he packed up stuff to work on at home. I guess he’s not really planning on coming back. 

That makes me smile, even if it is directly contradictory to what I just said to him like 20 minutes ago. 

When we get to his apartment, he glares at me when he sees I’ve outsmarted him. I brought my suitcase over this morning. I figured I could probably just leave from here in the morning. 

He taps it with his foot and looks up at me for an explanation. I drop my gaze and shrug. “I just…I don’t like being in Washington when you’re in California. It didn’t really work out so good last time.” 

I don’t look at him, but I hear him drop his bag to the floor right before his hands start rubbing my arms through my coat. “All right.” He relents softly. 

I look up and smile. “Really?” 

“I’m going to shift a lot of your responsibility though. We’re there for a few days and I want you to get plenty of rest while we’re there. No staying up late with us or anything like that.” 

“Kay.” I agree with a happy nod. Of course, in my joy, I kiss him. He’s surprised at first, but kisses me back. After a tentative moment, he deepens the kiss a bit, but just when I’m getting excited about the things that might be to come, he pulls away. 

He moves his bag to the kitchen table and I sigh as I watch him start to get settled in. 

I just don’t get it. I can tell in that kiss that he wants me. We’ve already had sex, so what’s he so gun shy about? 

I move to the bedroom and pull out my flannel pants and t-shirt. This is what I’m saying. I have CLOTHES here. 

We have all the signs of a couple, but not the sex. I have to tell you, I’m a woman with needs here and my hormones are on overdrive. I need me some sex! And I want to have it with the man I love out there, not with, you know, Black and Decker! 

I wander out into the kitchen where I can see he’s set everything up to get back to work. He’s standing at the table, looking down at the laptop with his hands in his pockets. 

“You okay?” he asks when he sees me studying him. 

“Yeah.” I nod. 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah. Will you…come in with me for a bit?” 

He stands there and smiles at me for a second, then says, “Kay.” He peels off his clothes along the way and puts on a sweatshirt and sweatpants when we get into his room. I curl into him on the bed and he tucks my head under his chin. 

“Mmm…” I sigh. 

“Nice?” 

“Very.” I slide my hands around his waist and pull myself as close to him as I can get, and he kisses my forehead. It’s all so comfortable and domestic. 

So, why aren’t we having comfortable domesticated sex? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The alarm on my watch goes off and I reach down into my backpack and pull out a water bottle; then, I reach down into Donna’s tote bag and take out her medicine vial, remove two pills and nudge her to wake up. CJ and Toby are watching this scene with great interest. 

We’re half-way across the country now and it’s only 8 a.m. Donna got up, got dressed, got on the plane and went back to sleep. 

She pops the pills and curls back down under her blanket. 

“How’s she feeling lately?” CJ asks me. “She’s kind of evasive when I ask.” 

“All right, I guess.” I shrug. Sorry, Ceej, I’m not going to be much more clear on that subject for you. 

“She’s seems like she’s got more energy, but she doesn’t seem to be gaining any of that weight back.” CJ notes. “I’ve never seen anyone react to the flu like that before.” 

“That’s because you’re thinking of normal people.” I smirk. “This is Donna. You have to think of the ABnormal.” 

“I heard that, jerk.” Donna mumbles from the seat next to me. 

“See? What assistant calls her boss a jerk?” I say. 

“One who works for a mean man.” She grumbles. CJ rolls her eyes and goes back to what she was reading, thank God. 

When you work in the White House, you tend to work with intelligent people. They tend to pick up on things. It’s not always a good thing, so I’m glad we’re all pretty much buried in Will and Toby’s bajillionth inaugural draft. 

Will’s pacing the cabin. He seems nervous. I guess because we’re all reading his speech and he’s new. I arrived in California after Will started to head out to come here, so I didn’t actually meet him until I came back. He’s okay, I guess, but he’s a little green and starry eyed. I think he thinks this speech is supposed to change the world and he’s trying too hard. 

It looks fine to me, but everything looks fine to me lately because I can’t concentrate. No one knows what really brought my leave to an abrupt halt. Of course, they’ve all heard Sam’s version and I’ve said nothing to dissuade him of that notion, but none of us got our jobs because we suck at reading people. I can tell that Toby and CJ accept it on the surface because it’s what they were told, but I think they think it’s because Donna got so sick, and they’re right to an extent. That would be odd behavior if it was from anyone else, but Donna and I have always been different and so, it really wasn’t all that strange. She did put her entire life on hold when I was shot. 

I rest my head against the seat and look over at her. I’m hoping it looks like I’m looking out the window and not studying my assistant too closely. I can’t believe I let her come on this trip. In case it hasn’t been obvious, I’m a sucker when she wants pretty much anything. Dr. Bartlet’s with us and Air Force One has a surgery and a doctor, but the term “high risk pregnancy” freaks me out. Who wouldn’t it freak out? 

But this all par for my course. Crappy things happen to the people I love and Donna’s obviously no exception. 

She’s sleeping now, but it doesn’t look like she’s comfortable. Well, no one’s comfortable sleeping in airplane seats, even if that plane is Air Force One, but she looks like she’s in some kind of discomfort. All the rules for her are different. I don’t know what’s normal and what she should be feeling and what’s part of this hyper-whatever she’s got. 

This thing makes her sleep a lot, and she’s getting headaches. So far, the medication has kept the nausea down, but she hasn’t gained an ounce. 

I think there was no amount of surprise this morning when I suggested canceling this trip to the President. That actually would have worked out really well for me. One, Donna would not be on an airplane right now; 2) I would not have to see Sam; 3) We would not have to announce a plan to tax the rich from Orange County. Sam’s campaign is doomed either way, so why not just tank it ourselves? 

See, the thing is, if Sam knew what we were thinking, I know he’d A) find a way to blame it on me; and B) tell the President to make the announcement anyway, thus tanking his campaign. 

Donna sleeps the rest of the way to California and wakes up on her own as we start the descent. We go from the plane to the motorcade. We’re late getting to the event and since we’re a Presidential motorcade, the highways are closed for us to come through. 

When we get to the event, Sam greets everyone but me. 

Ah, fun, fun, fun in the California sun. 

TBC


	8. Cardinal Rules

This should be the highlight of my campaign; my friends, colleagues, and the President of the United States have all come to California to stump for me. Instead, it has only served to highlight the huge rift between me and my former best friend. As if I'm not feeling bad enough, there seems to be some sort of curse over this whole trip. 

The President was delayed, they shut down the wrong highway, and then a mic caught the President insulting both the French and hairdressers with some spicey language just as I was introducing him as a strong moral role model. Yes, it was ugly. Then you add in the tension between Josh and me and my head is about to explode. Everyone is tip toeing around us and it's become the elephant in the room. Donna has tried to corner me a couple times, but I've managed to slip out before she accomplished her goal. She can only be trying to smooth the waters for Josh and I'm not interested in anything she has to say on the subject. And then I see her… 

"Lady, are you crazy?" Scott is yelling at her. "You let yourself get photographed with the standard bearer of the communist party?" 

"I met with a California politician at the request of my boss; the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States." She corrects him. Her voice is icy, but her face looks pale and her eyes look glassy…are her hands shaking? 

"Well you and your idiot boss probably just cost Sam the election!" Scott gets in her face. 

This makes Donna laugh. "Like he had a chance in hell since he fired Josh." I freeze in shock at her words. Is that what Josh told her? That I fired him? Josh is many, many difficult and trying things, but a liar he has never been. What the hell? 

"It's the smartest move Sam has made." Scott informs her. 

"Get out of my face, Holcombe." Donna shakes her head like she's dizzy and then pushes at his chest but Scott doesn't move. "Back off!" 

I move to intervene but out of nowhere, Josh appears and hauls Scott back by his collar. 

"What the-" Scott whips around and raises his fist toward Josh. I grab his fist from the other side of him and Scott shakes up both off. 

Donna slumps on the wall and everyone freezes for a beat or two. 

"Are you okay?" Josh asks Donna without taking his eyes off of Holcombe. 

"I'm fine." Donna tells him. 

"Donna?" he asks again. 

"I'm fine." She repeats and throws a look at me; like Josh would even listen to me right now. 

"You don't look fine." I tell her and she gives me the patented Moss glare. If she didn't look like a mild wind could knock her over I'd be scared she was going to hit me. Josh finally breaks his eye lock with Scott to look first at Donna and then at me. 

"If you come within 50 feet of Donna again, you're going to need life support." He threatens Scott and though I've always thought Josh's talents were more verbal and cerebral than physical…I believe every word. 

"He won't be within 50 feet of any of us because Scott's done here." I announce and Scott chokes. 

"What?" 

"You're done. The campaigns done too, so it really doesn't need a manager. Bye Scott." I wait until he turns to leave before I turn back to Josh and Donna. I see him with his arm around her and they're walking slowly to the elevator. Josh and Donna never walk   
slowly anywhere. Another bell goes off. Like the one that went off when I spoke to Ainsley earlier. 

"Then hurry up and lose so you can come back here." She teased me when I complained about missing life at the White House. 

"Thanks, Ains. I appreciate the encouragement." I drawl. 

"I'm just saying that your attitude needs to improve. The electorate in California may all be high on pot, but they can pick up on your defeatist attitude." 

"I have a defeatist attitude because I'm about to be defeated." 

"Give yourself a break, Sam. No Democrat could pull off a win in the 47th." 

"Josh could have." I muttered. 

"Sam, if there had been any way he could've stayed out there, he would have." 

"Right." I said snottily. "He isn't even speaking to me. I mean, he's the one who bagged on me, and he's acting like the injured party!" 

"Give him a break, Sam. Can you even imagine how worried he must be?" She asked. 

"Yeah…wait. What?" 

"He's been your best friend forever and you should cut him some slack while he's going through this." She declared. 

"Ainsley?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Going through what?" There was a silent pause. 

"Ummm…what do you mean?" 

"Ainsley?" 

"The inauguration stuff is very stressful, Sam." 

"Ainsley…" 

"I've got to go. Talk to you later, Sam." And she hung up. 

Now, I'm re-evaluating the conversation. There's more to this than I thought and Ainsley knows what I'm missing. I try to call her but her assistant says she's unavailable. So I make my way up to the floor the President and his staff are staying on and barge my way into Toby's room. 

"I need you to take a leave of absence and run my campaign." I announce. Toby and C.J. exchange looks. "I just fired Scott Holcombe. I need you to run my campaign." 

"Are you trying to break some kind of Guinness world record? Most campaign managers fired during a 3 month campaign?" Toby quips. 

"I didn't- Is that what he told you guys? That I fired him?" I shout. 

"No, he just said that you didn't need him anymore." C.J. tells me. 

"That is COMPLETE bullshit. He went running back to D.C. the minute we had that nasty poll come out with Webb cleaning my clock and then he made excuses about why he couldn't come back right away. Something important came up. He wasn't sure when he'd be able to get back to California. Please!" 

C.J. and Toby exchange a look again. 

"What?" I demand. 

"Are you saying you think Josh was trying to get out of running your campaign because it looked like you were going to get creamed?" She asks me. 

"How would you explain it then?" I counter. 

"That something very important came up in D.C. and he had to take care of it." C.J. answers. "Have you ever...in all the time you've known him, EVER seen Josh back off from a fight?" 

"He quit!" I insist. I turn away from C.J., she's always had a soft spot for Josh and face Toby. "I'm asking for your help, Toby. Will you help me?" Toby doesn't keep me hanging long and simply nods his head. "Thank you. I've got a radio interview in a few minutes. We'll talk after that?" Toby nods again and I leave the two of them and their secretive glances alone. 

****************************************** 

Donna just got sick…again. I blame that bastard Holcombe for getting her all upset. She's going to lay down for a little while…a long while if I have any say. She can be `researching' in her room on my laptop. C.J.'s not the only one who can spin. But then Toby called and summoned me to his room. 

I knock twice before he opens the door and I find a very grim faced Communications Director and Press Secretary facing me. 

"What's happened?" 

"Want a drink?" Toby asks me as he pours one for each of us. 

"This is so bad that I need a drink?" I joke but wave off the glass he offers me. 

"Sam was just in here. He fired Holcombe." Toby announces. 

"I know. I was there. Probably the best decision he's made during this run." I comment and change my mind about the drink. I pick up the glass and take a sip. 

"He asked Toby to run the campaign." C.J. tells me and I can feel my eyebrows raise up on my forehead. I turn back to Toby. 

"He knows your record for winning campaigns, right?" I joke. "Although now I guess you've got two wins in a row so you're on a roll." 

"Josh, why didn't-" C.J. starts but I interrupt her because I can't let her finish that sentence. 

"Was this seriously what you called me in here for cause I got to tell you that things are ramping up with the Republican tax plan, especially since we can't release ours here, and I'm hearing rumblings about trouble in Kuhndu." 

"Kuhndu?" C.J. repeats. 

"Stay on target." Toby tells her. "Why is Sam asking me to do this and not you?" Well, that was subtle. 

"You'd have to ask Sam." I reply simply. 

"Sam said you quit." C.J. pipes up. 

"I did." I admit. "I told you that before." 

"If it was just a matter of worrying about Donna, because she's been sick…" C.J. begins again. 

"It wasn't. There were other…considerations. Sam had Scott and when it became apparent that returning to California for the rest of the campaign might be difficult, we both agreed that it would be best for me to stay in D.C." 

"Bullshit." Toby accuses and I chuckle as I take a bigger swallow of the alcohol. "If that were true, you'd still be consulting by phone, fax, and email. Instead, even while you're here, you're not speaking to each other. Something else happened." 

"IF that were true, it would be private between me and Sam." I reply carefully. 

"And Donna?" He asks. "Is she a part of this too? Because I got to tell you, Joshua, the last thing this administration needs right now is a distraction from the very important business of the executive branch at the beginning of the second term." 

"You think I don't know that, Toby? You just take care of Sam's campaign. I can take care of myself." 

"Idiot boys!" C.J. butts in. "Will you both put your considerable egos in check for just a moment? Thank you." She blows out a huff of breath. "What we're trying to say here, Josh, is that things aren't adding up. There seems to be more to the story than what we know and the only way we can protect you, Sam, and the President is if we have all the details. But more importantly? We see our friends hurting and we want to help." 

I can't help but soften at C.J.'s words. I know that she cares; I do. But I promised Donna that we'd keep this to ourselves for now and I have no desire to share the hurt I felt at the things Sam accused me of. So in the end I have no choice. 

I set my now empty glass down and walk over to her. "Claudia Jean, you'll be my first call, I promise. Tell Sam good luck. Good luck to both of you." 

******************************************** 

There's knocking at the door. For God's sake, the man tells me to stay in bed while he takes a meeting with the California branch of the D triple C. and then he can't use the key card to get back in so I have to get up anyway. 

"Josh, go away. I'm working." I shout. 

"It's not Josh." No. No it isn't. It's Sam. I kind of had the feeling he was avoiding me. 

"Just a second." I call out and shift the laptop and all the papers I'm trying to organize into a few dozen concise notecards to the other side of the bed. 

I open the door to see a very disheveled looking Congressional candidate on the other side. 

"Sam?" 

"Can I come in for a minute?" 

"Uh….sure." I open the door further and he comes inside. 

"I can only stay a minute. I've got to go down to the police station and bail my new campaign manager out of jail." 

"Excuse me?" 

"Course that's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I mean, I forced the President to release his tax plan tonight which pretty much tanked what little hope remained of my candidacy and innocent people are being slaughtered in Kuhndu so the President has to return to Washington tonight." 

"I heard about those last two, but the part about jail-" 

"Plus, I really miss my best friend." Sam admits. 

That jolts me. "Josh really misses you too." 

"I meant you, but I miss Josh a bit as well." He teases and I motion for him to sit down. "Something you said this morning bothered me and I wanted to ask you about it." 

"Something I said this morning?" I repeat. 

"Yes." 

"And you want to talk to me about it?" 

"Technically, I want to ask you about it." Sam corrects me. 

"Okay." 

"You told Scott I didn't have a chance in hell since I fired Josh." Sam states and I gasp at the summary. Not that I didn't mean it, I did, but I didn't mean for Sam to hear it. Yes, I'm pissed at Sam but that doesn't mean I`d purposefully hurt him. Scott Holcombe just… 

"Sam, what I meant was-" 

"Don't. I know what you meant and I can read polling data as well as anyone else, so just…don't. What I wanted to ask you about was…did Josh tell you that? That I fired him?" 

I look down at the floor and weigh my possible answers here. 

"No, he told me he quit." I admit. 

"Then why would you say-" 

"Because I didn't believe him!" I practically shout. "Josh doesn't leave people. That's his Cardinal Rule! He doesn't leave. There is NO WAY he would have left you if you hadn't forced him to, so whether you said the words `you're fired' or not, you must have fired him." I guess I was a little angrier than I thought. Sam's jaw is on the floor. 

"Are you okay?" he asks when he finally regains the power of speech. 

"I'm…fine." 

"Cause you don't look fine and C.J. said you've been sick." 

"I have been sick. I'm still on medication, but I'm feeling better." 

"Okay, but when I spoke to Ainsley-" 

"Ainsley!" I squeak. Shit. Did Ainsley tell him? What did she spill to Sam? 

"Yes, Ainsley and I were talking about…it doesn't matter what we were talking about, she sort of implied that Josh was very worried about something. Then I made a mental list of the things Josh might be worried about; the election is over and the President's about to embark on a new term after winning in a landslide. His mother is fine." 

"You called his mother?" I ask but he ignores me. 

"And a subtle inquiry with a member of Congress revealed that things are going fine on the hill." 

"If Josh finds out you've been interrogating Matt Skinner about him, he'll.." 

"What?" Sam prods. "Not speak to me? That ship has already sailed." 

"I guess that it has." I admit. 

"So then I get to the last item on the list. Donna Moss." Sam recounts. 

"I'm last. On the list." I repeat. 

"The list was not made in order of importance." He assures me. 

"And yet, I'm last on this list of yours?" 

"Don't bother with the misdirection, Donnatella. What don't I know that I should know?" 

"I really don't know how to answer that, Sam. And don't call me Donnatella." 

"Right, because that's the exclusive right of Josh Lyman. Why is that, Donna?" 

"Sam-" 

"What is going on with you that has Josh so worried?" 

"I got really sick, Sam. I couldn't keep food down for awhile, I'm still having some trouble with that. I got dehydrated and lost a lot of weight and I…ended up in the hospital." I pause to take in Sam's expression, but all I see there is honest concern. "That morning that Josh was supposed to go back to California? He  
was at the hospital with me. He didn't want to leave me in the hospital alone." 

"Why didn't he tell me that?" 

"I asked him not to. I was scared and emotional and I asked him not to tell anyone I was in the hospital. It was my fault. It was my fault and I tried to tell you that when we got here but you were avoiding me." 

"I was avoiding you." 

"Why were you avoiding me?" 

"I thought maybe you were shilling for Josh." 

"Shilling? You thought I was shilling for Josh?" 

"That's your job." Sam shrugs. 

"It's not my job." I counter. 

"No, it's not, and yet you do it anyway. Just like it's not Josh's job to sit at your hospital beside or yours to sit by his hospital bedside, but you both do it anyway; even when surgery takes 14 hours. Why do you suppose that is, Donnatella?" 

"Now you're just trying to push my buttons." I accuse him. 

"Yes. How's it working?" 

"Amazingly well. Why are you trying to push my buttons?" 

"Because you're lying to me and I want you to tell me the truth." 

"I'm not lying-" 

"I've been in Washington a long time, Donna. I've pretty much honed the bullshit detector." Sam gets up. "I just didn't think I'd need it with you." He walks to the door and walks right through it while calling out over his shoulder, "I hope you feel better." 

Well…there's little chance of that now, is there? 

TBC


	9. Cardinal Rules

Cardinal Rule: Never assume that a secret kept at the White House will stay that way. Okay. Maybe that one falls more under the Murphy’s Law column. 

California…well, it was a disaster. Plain and simple. We’re back in DC now, sans Toby, who is staying out with Sam for a few weeks. Not that Toby can do anything to save that campaign that I couldn’t, but at least Toby will make Sam sound good on his way down. 

Donna doesn’t look any better than she did in California, but now most of the staff is paranoid that she’s carrying some form of the bubonic plague. NO ONE wants a piece of this “flu.” She’s given a very wide berth wherever she goes, Ainsley and I are the only ones who will eat with her in the mess, and Ginger got a flu shot. That just might be my favorite one. 

I thought I was winning the battle of getting Donna to take a couple of days off, but then I got that freaking fax from Amy. Now, I have to pry Donna out of here at the end of the day. I think it’s a cross of Donna being afraid Amy is chasing me again with the fact that she doesn’t want to appear weak in front of Amy. 

I will concede the Amy chasing me again fear. Amy constantly finds reasons to come to my office, but I’m really good about delegating her and directing her to the appropriate channels. 

What’s just plain crap is Donna afraid to appear weak in front of Amy. What Donna feels at any given moment on any given day is simply astounding. She’s not throwing up, but she doesn’t have an appetite, she’s exhausted, she gets headaches, she gets the shakes from not eating enough. Yet, she gets up and comes to work. 

Today she’s very sluggish though. She’s just not into it today. It’s literally painful to watch her go through this. The day’s just about done and Donna’s about to find out she’s not coming in tomorrow. I’m about to keep her out of work for the next few days to rest. I went down to human resources and made it mandatory. To say she’s going to be pissed is an understatement. Donna handles me, I do not handle Donna. 

Except now I do. 

This condition or complication, however you want to term it, scares the ever living hell out of me. I absolutely do not feel like this is under control and I really think it’s going to kill one or both of them soon. At which point, I hope it somehow takes me with it. 

The problem with Sam and Toby being in California is I’m left here with Will and CJ. I’m currently trying to harangue some stray votes back to our side on a stimulus package. Will’s too green and CJ’s a crappy politician. 

She is. She can spin the hell out of anything and she’s unparalleled on media issues, and, of course, she knows a lot about politics obviously. But she sucks at playing the Capitol Hill game. She can’t make the deals and threats that me, Toby or even Sam can. They just don’t take her seriously enough. And so, we’re in her office now, and I’m doing most of the work. Will’s in here “learning” and CJ, God love her, is trying, but like I said, she’s just not good at it. 

Donna comes in and hands me the latest whip count. She’s so pale I can almost see through her. 

Like every day since the day I met her, I can sense her presence. I’m so accustomed to her orbiting me that I don’t break my attention from the congressman I’m currently arguing with. I mean how hard is it? You’re a democrat, you vote with the leader of your party. What’s this shithead missing? 

“Donna,” CJ says, covering the mouthpiece of her phone receiver. “Could you ask Carol to bring me a briefing memo on the stimulus package? I think I need a refresher.” 

Yeah. I don’t think we’re going to put this one in the win column. 

My back is to Donna, and I’m facing CJ’s desk on the phone. 

“Donna?” CJ asks again. 

“Hey, Donna, are you okay?” Will asks. 

“Josh!” CJ shouts, and I turn just in time to catch Donna before she hits the ground. 

“Carol! Call the First Lady!” CJ directs. 

“No, call 911!” I counter. 

“Donna.” I say frantically, trying to maintain my cool and remember where I am right now. “Donna, wake up.” I’m tapping her face, pinching her, anything I can think of to stimulate her enough to wake up. 

“Donnatella!” I shout louder. 

CJ reaches down and takes Donna’s wrist. “I can feel a pulse.” She says. “What the hell is going on here, Josh?!” CJ demands. 

“Will, can you go tell the front desk that an ambulance is coming?” I say as calmly as I can to Will. 

Will takes the hint and shuts the door on the way out. Just before it closes, I hear him direct Carol not to let anyone but the First Lady or the Secret Service into the room. 

Damn, he picks up quick. 

“Donna!” I call out again. 

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. 

Abbey busts into CJ’s office as CJ and I move Donna to the couch. She drops her medical bag down and checks Donna’s pulse, then her breathing, then pulls open her eyelids. 

“Tell me about this, quote unquote, flu, Josh.” Abbey directs pulling out a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope. I should have known we weren’t getting anything past her. 

“She’s pregnant.” I finally confess. There’s no way around it in this situation. “I think she’s 14 weeks now. When she was in the hospital a few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with hyperemis gravidarum.” 

Abbey’s head snaps up to mine. 

“What the hell is that?” CJ demands. 

“Well, it’s not good.” Abbey says. “It looks like she’s dehydrated.” 

“Josh!” CJ shrieks. 

“She’s on medication, I forget the name, and it’s held the nausea at bay but nothing else. 

Carol opens the door and admits two paramedics and a Secret Service agent. They don’t seem the slightest bit phased by the presence of the First Lady as they go through their quick exam and move Donna to a stretcher. 

Abbey starts issuing orders, including starting an IV and getting Donna on fluids, and the paramedics follow Abbey’s orders to a T. They seemed to have missed that big article in the paper that talked about Abbey voluntarily giving up her medical license. 

The paramedics start moving Donna out into the corridor, where it’s the parting of the Red Sea by the Secret Service. I charge ahead to my bullpen, grab Donna’s bag and coat and my coat and keys. I hit the lobby right before they do and head right outside to the ambulance. 

“Josh!” CJ says trying to stop me right before I hop into the back of the ambulance. 

“Not now, CJ.” I dismiss. “Do me a favor. Go down and talk to Ainsley. Tell her what happened and tell her I sent you to her. She knows what’s going on.” 

“Ainsley?” 

“Yes.” I say simply as Donna’s loaded in still unconscious next to me. “I’ll call you.” 

I know those seem like terrible words to leave with someone. CJ’s our friend and all she’s got is that Donna’s pregnant and has some crazy illness with a name that took me weeks to remember. 

Since CJ and Donna are friends, CJ naturally knows Donna isn’t seeing anyone and hasn’t been for quite some time. 

CJ is also about to find out from Ainsley that that little bit of information is simply not true. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Cardinal Rule: Never believe Josh Lyman has a terrible poker face. That’s just simply wrong. 

He’s IN the ambulance with Donna. He’s not following in his car, he’s actually in it and looking incredibly freaked out. 

Looks like one and one got together and made three. 

I may not be the best politician, but I’m a pretty damn good press secretary and I’ll tell you this. I have NO idea how this is going to play out in the press. 

DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF HAS AFFAIR WITH ASSISTANT. 

It’ll probably be below the fold. It will definitely be written as a scandal, but Josh isn’t married and neither is Donna, so it’s not like it has the potential to be a big explosion. 

I’m heading down to Ainsley’s office as fast as I can without all out sprinting. An ambulance came to the White House, for crying out loud, and the unconscious senior assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff was taken away with a very frantic Deputy Chief of Staff at her side. 

That’s the kind of thing that the press corps tends to notice. 

But that’s, by far, not the worst of it. 

My very good friend Donna is quite obviously very sick. My two good friends are having a baby together and it sounds like things are not going well. 

Did they create quite the mess? 

Yes. 

Am I the slightest bit surprised they got together? 

No. And no one else will be either. 

But I am going to have to do another press briefing today and someone I’m sure will ask me about it. 

Ainsley looks surprised by my abrupt entrance. 

“Donna just got taken away by ambulance.” I huff, dropping down into a chair. “Josh told the First Lady she’s pregnant. Then he told me to come down here and tell you to tell me what you know.” 

Ainsley’s eyes go real wide. “Is Donna okay?” 

“I don’t think so. She was unconscious and Josh couldn’t wake her up.” 

“Oh my.” 

“Indeed. Spill. What’s going on with my friends?” 

“Um…well, yes, Donna is pregnant.” 

“Am I correct in assuming the baby is Josh’s?” 

“Yes.” 

“How is it you know all this?” 

“I was down here in my office one afternoon working and they had come down arguing. They didn’t know my office got moved, so they thought it was deserted down here, and I overheard them. They got as far as Josh reminding Donna that he had just as much say in the baby as she did, and I came out to tell them I was there. I told them I wouldn’t say anything, but Josh called me later to tell me everything. He said he’d rather me have all the information than half a story.” 

“So, do you know what’s wrong with her?” 

“Yes. It’s a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I looked it up after he told me about it, and it’s pretty much morning sickness gone all to hell. He told me then that if she didn’t improve, and now I’m assuming she hasn’t, that she’d be on bed rest. First they tried to change her diet and give her medication, but it seems that didn’t work.” 

“This is all why Josh left Sam’s campaign.” I conclude. It wasn’t a hard leap to make. 

“Yeah.” Ainsley nods. “I feel awful, but I was sworn to secrecy.” 

“Of course.” CJ says. “Josh would never let her go through this alone.” 

“No. It seems he didn’t want to go to California originally after he found out, but she somehow forced him to and he came back at Christmas.” 

“When the shit then hit the fan.” I nod. 

“Pretty much, yes.” 

“Thanks, Ainsley.” I smile standing up. “I’ll let you know what happens when I hear from Josh.” 

“I appreciate that, CJ.” 

I leave Ainsley’s office and wander back upstairs. I’m going to need to talk to Leo. It really should be Josh doing this, but Leo’s going to demand answers. One of this staffers was just rushed to the hospital and Leo’s never one to take that too well. Not to mention, the First Lady knows, as well, and I’m not sure whether or not she’d spill the beans to the President anyway. Probably not, given the situation, but there’s still the Leo factor, so that doesn’t matter anyway. 

I smile a bit as I think of Josh and Donna and the commitment they’ve just made to each other. Deep down in places I don’t speak from at the podium, I’ve been rooting for them. 

But I can’t help but be saddened by the difficulties they are about to face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Did I jinx this, Josh?” she whispers from the bed. 

“What?” Did she just ask what I think she asked? 

“In the beginning, when I didn’t want the baby, do you think I jinx it?” 

“No.” I say quickly and sit down next to her on the bed. The look in her eyes right now is so incredibly heartbreaking. “No, Baby, you didn’t do anything like that. If anyone’s the jinx here, it’s quite obviously me.” 

“Josh.” She groans a little bit and closes her eyes. “How would it be you?” 

“I’m a walking jinx. I’m a curse.” 

“I don’t believe that.” 

“Well, I don’t believe you’ve done anything to jinx the baby.” 

“I didn’t want it.” 

“That is unequivocally not true.” I say firmly. “And I don’t want to hear you say anything like this again, Donna. You’ve never not wanted this baby; you were just trying to protect me. You’re doing everything the doctors tell you. It’s just a crappy circumstance.” 

“Crappy circumstances?” 

“Yes.” 

“So, then you’re not a jinx or a curse?” 

Damn. That was well played. “I don’t accept the premise of the argument.” 

“Of course.” She smiles lightly and holds her hand out to me and I take it immediately in mine. 

I lean forward and kiss her lightly. Before I pull away, her arms come around my neck and I give her the hug we both so desperately need. “It’s going to be all right.” I whisper. 

“How do you know?” 

“Because I won’t have it any other way.” 

“As egocentric as that sounded, I actually believe you.” 

I pull away and smooth the hair back from her face. “Good, because it’s true. I love this baby as much as I love you, Donna, and I’m not going to let anything happen to either one of you.” 

Her hand comes up to the side of my face and she smiles. “I love you, too, Josh.” Her voice is getting more and more hoarse, so I know I’m going to lose her soon to the exhaustion that’s been overtaking her and the medication they’re giving her. 

“I’m scared.” She says as her eyes drift shut. 

“I know, me too. But I’m going to stay right here with you.” I vow and she finally succumbs to sleep. 

I’m terrified. I am so out of my element right now that I’m completely terrified. I have absolutely no control in this situation and I tell her it’s going to be okay until I’m blue in the face, but when it comes down to it, I can’t do anything if it goes the other way. I’m absolutely powerless to do anything other than hold her hand. I did manage to tell her I loved her though, so I guess that’s something. 

TBC


	10. Cardinal Rules

"Hey." A low gravelly voice wakes me from my light sleep at the bottom of Donna's hospital bed. Leo has arrived. Now it's time to pay the proverbial piper. 

"Hey." I respond in an equally quiet tone as I look over at Donna's sleeping form. She's been in and out of consciousness since we got here 3 hours ago. Right now it looks like she's very much out. I stand up and move over to face my boss and political mentor. I'm looking carefully at his face to try and get a read on where he's at with all this, but the man is a world class poker player. 

I have no such illusions about my face. Everything I'm feeling is plastered right there for all to see. The pain, the fear, and I'm sure, the love I have for the woman lying in the hospital bed fighting for her life and the life of our child. 

"How's she doing?" Leo motions to Donna with his chin. I know there's no way Leo McGarry comes in here without a thorough update from whomever is in charge, so this is a `gimmee' question. He's giving me a chance to say the things I need to say. 

"It's uh…pretty rough right now. Donna's been losing a lot of weight and the constant vomiting has left her dehydrated and it turns out that water is the one thing Donna, and the baby, can't live without." I manage, never taking my eyes off Donna. 

"They're pumping her with IV fluids now, but she's going to have to stay here awhile and then she'll be on bed rest." Leo reports. See? I told you he already knew. "So what's your plan?" 

"To take care of Donna and the baby." I answer. 

"A baby, huh? Ain't that a kick in the pants?" Leo smirks. "Your mother is going to be over the moon." 

I chuckle. "We haven't told anyone yet because of the complications. We wanted to make sure the baby was going to be okay and…we wanted some time to adjust to the idea of being parents." I try to explain. 

"Well son, I think that ship has sailed." Leo says pointedly. "C.J. just left the briefing room after being literally assaulted with questions about who left the White House in an ambulance and why. Mind you, the questions were just for form. Most of the room knows some of the details already. If you'd given us a heads up on this, we might have been able to cut them off at the pass." 

"I couldn't…I gave Donna my word that we'd wait until she was ready to make an announcement." 

"The announcement's been made now. Ready or not, here they come." Leo mutters. 

I run my hand through my hair and down the back of my neck. "I'll have my resignation on your desk later today." 

"That's your decision, but I think it's a poor one." Leo tells me. "If you resign now it's going to look like this is a bad thing; that you're ashamed of it and that this administration is ashamed of it. Is that how you feel?" 

"Hell no!" I whisper loudly. "I love that child and the woman carrying it more than anything on earth and I intend to spend the rest of my life with my family." 

"There you go then." Leo shrugs. 

"I don't want Donna to be the center of some right ring, Mary Marsh, slimefest." 

"That, you don't have a say in, Joshua." Leo admits. "But you'll have a better chance of shielding Donna and your child from all of it from behind the gates of the White House. Work with C.J. and issue a statement." 

"Is the President pissed?" I ask. 

"He's plenty pissed that he had to find out from a White House press briefing. Personally, I think he's excited about the prospect of watching you attempt parenting. He's probably planning a lecture on Fatherhood as we speak." 

"Oh, God." I moan. 

"Son, this is just the beginning of the penance we have in store for you." 

"But I'm not even Catholic!" I protest. 

"We'll overlook that shortcoming for now." Leo declares. "Seriously; talk to C.J. and figure something out." 

"I will." I promise. "I really love her, Leo. This wasn't some…This is real. It's the real thing." 

Leo smirks again. "You may know SOMETHING about spotting the real thing so I'll take your word on this. Oh, and you may want to step out and call your mother because if she was anywhere near a television in the last two hours-" 

"Shit!" I've been holed up in the hospital room since Donna was admitted with my cell phone off. I made a quick call to Donna's parents but if Mom tried to reach me and couldn't…But I can't step out to use my cell and leave Donna alone. I promised I'd stay with her. Leo must see the inner war waging on my face. 

"I'll stay with her. You go make your call." Leo offers and I'm quick to take him up on it. 

Mom must have been trying to reach me because she answers before the first ring ends. 

"Is she okay? Is the baby okay?" Are the first words rushing out of her mouth. 

"They're both fine." I try to assure her. "Well, fine might be a little strong, but they're getting the best care here and they're going to be fine." 

"Oh, thank God. How are YOU doing Joshua?" 

"I'm pretty wiped right now, Mom." I admit. "Pretty scared." 

"Welcome to the land of parenthood." She chuckles. "The exciting ride you never get off." 

"That doesn't sound very good." I mutter. 

"Oh, but it is, Joshua, mostly it is. But there are stressful parts too and you're just getting a taste of that." Mom tells me. "Things like your child being shot or your grandchild's life being in danger, but those are few and far between God willing." 

Then it hits me how by keeping this secret with Donna, I've hurt the other love of my life; my mother. 

"I'm sorry, Mom. We weren't sure how to tell everyone. This wasn't exactly planned." 

"Some of the best things in life aren't planned." Mom reminds me. 

"Aren't you going to tell me to hurry up and marry Donna?" I ask. 

"If I thought I had that kind of influence I'd have told you to hurry up and marry Donna years ago." She laughs. My mother laughs at me. "I'd like to come up there and do what I can to help, but I don't want to interfere or-" 

"Please." I interrupt her. "Please come. It would mean a lot to both of us; all of us." 

"I'll make the arrangements and call when I'm on my way." Mom promises. 

"I love you, Mom." I tell her. "That will never change, you know." 

"I do know that. You just take care of Donna and my grandchild until I can get there and take over, got it?" 

"Yes, ma'am." I smile and hang up the phone. Two down, several more to go. Piece of cake…Oh, shit. Here comes C.J. 

************************************* 

I feel like I'm moving through Jello; everything is sluggish and my limbs are heavy. I try to move my arms to reach for Josh but the IV line gets hooked on something. Then a hand moves to free me, but unless Josh is now sporting nail polish and several rings, it isn't josh. 

I move my head slowly around and see C.J. seated next to me. 

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." She smiles and I completely lose it. I start sobbing uncontrollably and send C.J. into a panic. 

"What? What's wrong? Does something hurt? Are you in pain? What?" C.J. stands up and hands me a tissue. "Should I call the nurse?" 

I shake my head `no' but I can't get the words out because I'm crying too hard. 

"Donna, please stop. You're already dehydrated, this can't be good for you or the baby." She reminds me, but the word `baby' just makes me cry harder. "Donna!" 

I try to pull myself together and C.J. moves to sit on the bed and takes me carefully into her arms. 

"This is such a mess, Ceej." I cry onto her shoulder. 

"No, it's okay." She assures me, but she's lying and we both know it. 

"It is NOT!" I argue. "I'm pregnant with my boss's baby and I could lose the baby because this stupid condition I have won't let me keep any food down! And what kind of luck is that anyway, C.J.? One percent of women get this. One percent! How is it that I'm in the lucky 1%?" 

"How is it that Josh was in the lucky 1% to survive what should have been a fatal gunshot wound?" C.J. answers and that stops me cold. "Think about the miracle here, Donna. Josh, strictly speaking by the   
numbers, shouldn't be alive today. And yet here he is, and he's obviously managed to get his head out of his ass long enough to convince you how much he loves you because you're having a baby together. Let's talk about those odds for a minute." 

"What?" 

"Josh Lyman, who for reasons passing understanding, managed to capture your heart the moment you walked into the campaign office in Nashua. And it appears that he's realized it's mutual and you're having a family together. What kind of miracle is that?" she asks and I'm at a loss for words. 

"I…at first I told him I wasn't going to keep the baby." I admit and watch C.J.'s eyes widen. 

"That must have gone over like a lead balloon." She states. 

"Actually, he was absolutely supportive even though he told me later it was the last thing he wanted me to do." 

"Josh Lyman? Absolutely supportive?" 

"I know. Who'd have ever guessed?" I give her a watery laugh. "But when I came to him, and he thought I'd already gone through with it? He still took me in his arms and held me while I cried." Just recounting it makes me cry all over again. "I wanted this child, this part of him, so much that I didn't care anymore about the consequences to either of our jobs or the President's reputation. I didn't care." 

"I understand." C.J. nods and I'm sure that she does. Still, she has a job to do and Josh and I have just made that job infinitely more difficult. "There are going to be some rocky days ahead, Donna, I won't lie to you. You're about to become the poster girl for the immorality in the Bartlet White House. I'll do whatever I can to smooth the road for you two; you three." She corrects herself, "But I need you and Josh to work with me very closely on this. No comments to the press, no comments to anyone without clearing it through me." 

"Got it." I promise. "I need to call my parents before they hear about this from CNN." 

"Donna, you left the White House unconscious in an ambulance with your boss, the father of your baby riding inside with you. They've heard." C.J. breaks this news to me. "Josh called them first, but I'm sure they're getting updates from CNN now." 

"Josh called them? Josh called my parents?" I confirm. 

"He didn't want them to be alarmed from the news and thought it would be better if it came from him." 

"I doubt that very much." I counter. 

"Hey, I did just fine." The man himself announces from just inside the doorway. "I spoke to my mom too. She sends her love and is working out the details for getting out here." 

"Your mom is coming?" I repeat numbly. 

"Your parents too. Everyone is anxious to make sure you and the baby are okay. Apparently I can't be trusted to such an important job by myself." He jokes. 

"I trust you." I tell him and see his eyes soften. "Come lay down with me. We can turn on the news and mock the commentators." 

C.J. and Josh exchange looks. "Donna…" C.J. begins. 

"It's started? Already?" I nearly whimper. 

"The ambulance made quite a picture rushing off with lights and sirens going." C.J. responds. 

"We're going to get ahead of it." Josh promises. 

"We CAN'T get ahead of it, Josh." I snap. 

"Cut it out." Josh snaps back. "I'm going to take care of it. Lucky for you, not all by myself, but I'm going to take care of this, and both of you." He tells me before placing a kiss first on my lips and then on my stomach." 

"Okay…that got me." C.J. says waving her hand in front of her teary eyes. "I'm going back to release the statement and corral Danny into doing my bidding. If there's anything you two need, call me." 

"Thanks, Ceej." Josh calls out to her but his eyes never leave mine as I echo my thanks. 

"I'm sorry this is about to blow up in your face." I tell him. 

"I'm not." He replies. "I mean, yes, the media thing is going to be a pain, but I'm not sorry that we're together and I'm sure as hell not sorry we're going to have a baby. Whatever crazy crap is coming down the track at us now, I want to be very clear with you on that point." 

"You're not lying just to make me feel better here, are you?" I ask. 

"You can't lie to the mother of your child when she's lying in a hospital bed; cardinal rule." He smiles so brightly his dimples pop out and I fall in love with him all over again. "And to prove the depth of my love for you, I'm about to endure a Presidential lecture on Fatherhood." 

"You do love me." I announce and reward him with a kiss. 

"Bet your ass." He confirms and kisses me again. 

***************************************** 

"You're going to ask me sooner or later, why not ask me now?" Danny ConCannon pesters me. He is a world class pesterer and I have no doubt that he will continue to pester me until I give in. But this is all part of my plan, because while Danny is very good at his job, I am even better at mine. Plus, he's secretly in love with me so he's got a blind spot where I'm concerned. 

"Ask you what, Daniel?" I feign indifference. Danny is the one to do this story. He has to be the one to do this story. But first he has to beg for it. 

"To do the story about Josh and Donna." He sighs. 

"There's a story about Josh and Donna?" I repeat. "Oh, you mean about Josh accompanying Donna to the hospital? That's real barn burner there, Danny." 

"No, the story about Josh's assistant being rushed to the hospital due to complications from pregnancy." Danny summarizes and I flinch. "The story where Josh is the father of the baby." 

"Oh, that story." I feign nonchalance. I'm exceptional at feigning stuff. "That's nothing." 

"I think there are quite a few of our readers that would disagree." Danny contradicts me. 

"Well, they're wrong." I reply. "Josh and Donna are thrilled to be expecting their first child and they have the best wishes of the President, the First Lady and the entire senior staff. The only reason they haven't announced it formally before this is that Donna has been experiencing complications and they wanted to be sure the baby was safe before they told everyone." 

"Totally blindsided you with it, huh?" Danny guesses. 

"You ain't kidding." I quip and share a grin with Danny. "Look, the complications are very serious. They're going to keep her in the hospital for at least a week and then she'll be on bed rest." 

"How is Josh going to work without her?" 

"This is what I'm saying." I reply. "It's a very serious situation. I don't want her upset more by being called nasty names in the papers." 

"Then let me handle it." Danny offers. "Come on, you know I'll shine a nice light on it." 

"You're not totally without talent and empathy." I acknowledge. 

"You'll get me into the hospital?" He presses. 

"Josh may not like it." I hedge and he jumps like a well trained frog at a county fair frog jumping contest. 

"If I get Josh to okay it?" He queries. 

"Welllll…I guess if Josh okays it." And she takes a dive, ladies and gentlemen. 

"You won't regret it." He assures me and I know I won't, but I don't grin until he turns the corner. 

"C.J.?" Carol calls out to me. "You've got Toby on line 2." 

I let out a sigh and pick up the phone. "Tobus, how's our boy doing in California?" 

"How's our boy doing at GW in D.C.?" He counters. Toby is nothing if not quick on his feet. 

"I'm gonna level with you Toby. He's pretty freaked right now." 

"You're gonna level with me now? Great. Good. WHY THE HELL AM I JUST HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW?" 

I have to hold the phone away from my ear until the ringing stops. "Since I'm not the one to keep this particular bit of knowledge from you, I really can't answer that, Toby." 

I can hear him take a deep breath and blow it out. "Okay, first things first. Donna and the baby are okay?" 

"It's serious, but they seemed confident that they could keep both of them healthy." 

"I'm glad about that, I truly am, but the timing of all this truly sucks. He's got a debate in a few days and a special election in 2 weeks." Toby rants. "He's going to get asked about this. His best friend is having a baby, out of wedlock, with his assistant and Sam's going to get nailed with this." 

"I'm already on spin, I just let Danny talk me into an exclusive interview, and we're releasing a statement on Josh and Donna's behalf. What else would you like me to do?" 

"A fan dance at your next briefing would distract them from the story." Toby suggests. 

"You think so?" I quip. 

"It would distract me." He replies. 

"Fair enough." I answer. "Let me go rehearse." I pause a few seconds. "Does he know?" 

"Not yet. He had a thing and I had to make sure his head was in the game. When he's done, I'll sit him down and tell him." 

"He's going to want to come back here. You can't let him." I advise. 

"No, really?" Toby smart mouths. "Thank God you warned me ahead of time." 

"I'm just saying…" I sigh. 

"Yeah…tell them both they're in my prayers." Toby directs me before we hang up. They're in all our prayers. 

Danny's interview with Josh hits all the right notes and paints Josh and Donna as star crossed lovers who have a `happily ever after' destiny, but in the end, it just isn't enough to stop the right wing nut jobs from using them as target practice. Damn it. 

TBC.


	11. Cardinal Rules

Toby enters my suite and sits down across from me. He’s got his ‘I’ve got unpleasant news’ face on. You may not think that Toby’s face ever changes, but it does, to the people that know him well anyway and that he trusts. In any other situation, Toby would never break the political cardinal rule of showing any emotion on his face. Josh frequently breaks that rule; Toby never does. 

“You don’t have the t.v. on?” he opens by stating the obvious. 

“No.” I say. “I’m boycotting my present life until 9 a.m. I’m doing what the rest of the world is doing right now, drinking coffee and checking my email.” I return to where my laptop is precariously balanced on my outstretched, bare legs. 

“You at least have shorts on under there, don’t you?” 

“No, Toby. I’m naked. Why? You don’t think that’ll shock the interns, do you?” 

“I think the free press might do us some good.” He deadpans back. 

“I take it you’ve got news.” I finally sigh, returning my laptop to the table. So much for that morning surfing Yahoo. 

“What makes you say that?” 

“You’re wearing your ‘I’ve got news face.’ And what’s more, it’s your ‘I’ve got unpleasant news face’” 

“I have no such face.” 

“In fact, you do.” 

“Sam, I have unpleasant news.” 

“I already knew that.” 

“Would you like to hear it?” 

“Is my campaign finally tanked? Because that’s not unpleasant news.” 

“It’s about Josh.” 

My first reaction is concern, my second is to tense up. “Josh going hand in hand with unpleasant news, imagine that.” 

“Sam, this is very serious.” Toby says. The last time I heard this tone to his voice concerning Josh, Toby was telling Donna he got shot. 

“What’s going on?” I ask dropping all the tension from my tone and falling back onto the concerned best friend reaction. 

“It seems that Donna is pregnant and Josh is the father.” Toby begins, and I smile. I knew they’d make a cute couple and eventually get together. “But there are complications and Donna is in the hospital. She was taken out of the White House by ambulance and it’s all over the news.” 

My jaw tenses and I pull out my cell phone. Suddenly, Josh’s entire demeanor since the election is falling into place. His leaving the campaign probably had nothing to do with me, he probably wanted to be by Donna’s side, but I need to hear him say it and I need to hear how Donna is doing from him. He wastes no time picking up. 

“Took you longer than I thought it would.” He greets. 

“I’m in California; I’m three hours behind the news.” 

“It’s three hours messier in DC than they’re reporting right now in California then.” 

“How is she?” 

He pauses a moment. I threw him off his game. Rather than the back and forth he was counting on to get comfortable in the conversation, I dove right in. 

“The doctors think they can keep them both healthy.” He says quietly. He sounds very tired, and very scared. “She’s going to have to stay in the hospital for a little while.” 

“How are YOU doing?” 

“Oh, you know me…” 

“You’re coming apart at the seams.” I nod. “Should I fly back?” 

“I think that would be very bad press for you.” He immediately retorts. “I also don’t think Toby would let you.” 

“Why would it be bad press?” 

“Sam, have you turned on a television this morning?” 

“No.” 

“Turn the television on.” 

“In a minute. Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask him. 

“Donna made me promise not to tell anyone, not even our parents.” 

“But I’m your best friend.” 

“Yeah, but when she cries, I agree to all sorts of stupid things to get it to stop.” 

“If I hadn’t seen that for myself, I might not buy that excuse.” 

“What? When?” 

“You gave her a job, didn’t you?” 

“Fair point.” 

“Listen…” I begin. 

“It’s all right.” He says quickly. 

“It’s not all right. I was an asshole.” 

“So was I.” 

“Yeah, but I kind of expect that from you.” 

“What the hell!?” 

“Well, you fly off the handle faster than I do, admit it.” 

“I suppose I might have a history of that.” he concedes. 

“I would have understood.” I say. 

“Yeah, but she…” he starts and stops, almost as if he thought better of what he was going to say. 

“She what?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Josh.” 

“I don’t want to tell you over the cell phone.” 

“Who do you think is listening?” 

“On my government issued cell phone?” 

“Fair point.” I concede. “Is it something Toby knows?” 

“I doubt it.” 

“Tell me what’s wrong with Donna.” 

“Many, many, many things.” 

“Josh!” 

“Oh, you mean with the baby?” 

“Yes, of course I mean with the baby!” 

“It’s a condition called hyperemesis gravaridum.” 

“Uh-huh, and what the hell is that?” 

“Morning sickness gone very wrong. She can’t keep anything down, she’s exhausted, dehydrated, she gets headaches, dizzy.” 

“Are you sure it’s not just, you know, because it’s your kid?” 

“Well, that’s what Donna thinks, but there are a few medical doctors that get me off the hook.” 

“That sounds…unpleasant.” 

“It is. And if it’s unpleasant for me, you can imagine what it’s doing to Donna.” 

“When did you and Donna, um, happen?” 

“Election night, but then it wasn’t until Christmas that I convinced her to actually, you know, be with me.” 

“She took convincing? Really?” 

“Sam, seriously, please turn on a television and it’ll all make sense. You’ll also see why you can’t call me anymore.” 

“Like that’s going to happen.” I mutter and pick up the remote control. The t.v. is still tuned to MSNBC from last night. 

I turn it on just in time to see Mary Marsh skewer Donna. “She gets what she deserves. Having a baby out of wedlock is immoral. The Bartlet administration standing beside her is repugnant and I think both she and Josh Lyman should be fired immediately. The President and his staff are held to a higher standard and should take their roles seriously, act like they are leading the country and not leading us to the devil. If Ms. Moss wants to be taken seriously in politics and by this country in general, she should spend a little more time working and a little less time sleeping with her boss.” 

“That. Bitch.” I growl. 

“Yeah,” is Josh’s faint reply. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

JOSH’S POV 

“She gets what she deserves. Having a baby out of wedlock is immoral. The Bartlet administration standing beside her is repugnant and I think both she and Josh Lyman should be fired immediately. The President and his staff are held to a higher standard and should take their roles seriously, act like they are leading the country and not leading us to the devil. If Ms. Moss wants to be taken seriously in politics and by this country in general, she should spend a little more time working and a little less time sleeping with her boss.” 

I fucking hate Mary Marsh. 

“Why that hoity toity conservative fat windbag.” 

That was Donna’s mother. 

“She should take her opinions and shove them straight up her ignorant ass.” 

That was Donna’s father. 

“She can go straight to hell with her familiars.” 

Donna’s mother again. 

“Joshua, surely you have her phone number. Give it me. I have a thing or two to say to her about my baby boy.” 

And that’s my mother. 

All parents are present and accounted for with Donna asleep in her hospital room bed. How badly do you not want to be me right now? I mean, Mary Marsh aside, can you appreciate how awkward this is? 

“First of all, maybe Donna’s got her number on her desk at work, I really don’t know. I just tell her to call Hell and assume I’m either getting Mrs. Marsh or the Republican Cloakroom. Secondly, even if I did have her phone number, if I’M not allowed to tell her off, what makes you think I’ll let you do it?” I resume my pacing at the foot of Donna’s bed. 

“Because we do not work for Leo McGarry, Joshua.” My mother says gesturing between herself and her new best friend, Lynn Moss. 

“If you don’t think I don’t want to hijack CJ’s podium right now, mom, you’re nuts.” I reply. “I can handle what they say about me. People say nasty stuff about me all the time, but what they’re saying about Donna makes me want to throw up. You have no idea how helpless I feel right now.” 

“You look like a sentry right now, Joshua.” My mother says nodding to me and Donna’s bed. “Why don’t you sit down?” 

“I’ll explode if I stay still.” I reply. “There’s no room to pace over there, I have to do it here.” Even if the room were empty, I’d still probably be right next to Donna’s bed. 

“Josh?” It’s a hoarse whisper, but I hear it and I’m besides Donna in two steps. 

“What do you need?” I ask. I lean in close so I can kiss her, too. Her eyes are heavy, but her color seems to be coming back. That gives me a little bit better of a feeling that all this crap is working. 

“What’s happening?” 

“What do you mean?” I feign ignorance. 

“Over there on the t.v.” 

“Nothing.” I shrug and shake my head and our parents appear by the bed. 

“Josh.” 

“It’s just Mary Marsh, Donna. She isn’t saying anything about me that she hasn’t said before.” 

“That you’re a devil worshipper?” she says cracking a smile. 

“And some other stuff.” 

“What’s she saying about the President?” 

“The same stuff she always says.” I insist, which is true. Mary Marsh is a broken record. 

“Except the stuff about me must be new.” 

“You’re an angel, Donna, why would anyone say anything bad about you?” 

“I thought you told Sam there were many things wrong with me?” 

“I thought you were asleep.” I counter. 

“Not quite.” I smiles. “Mary Marsh?” Damn, she’s stubborn on this point. 

“Donna, honey, don’t worry about it.” Her mother says. “Just let CJ do her job. She’s very good at it. You just rest and take care of yourself and our grandchild.” 

“Your mother is a very wise woman.” I pipe in. 

“Suck up.” Donna grumbles. 

“Donna, I promise, I’ll tell you everything, just not right now, okay?” 

She sighs and nods. All I’m doing is delaying the devastation because I’m a coward. If I can’t stomach listening to the foul words and insinuations being made about her, I’m positive I can’t survive the look of mortification on her face when she hears them herself, and coming out of my mouth no less. Though I don’t want to, I need to be the one to tell her. After all, if it wasn’t for the me factor, no one would be saying boo about her. She’d be allowed to experience pregnancy in the happy little cocoon she should be. But it’s my fault she can’t. And it’s my fault she ever considered terminating the pregnancy. So, I need to protect her for just a little bit longer before she’s caused anymore pain. 

“You know,” I hear my mother say. When I turn to look at her, she’s looking thoughtfully at the television. “I think I need to stretch my legs. I think I’m going to go for a walk for a bit, maybe take in the Georgetown sights.” 

“Why don’t you just walk around the hospital.” I suggest. I don’t like the look in my mother’s eyes. 

“No, I think I need fresh air. Lynn, would you like to join me?” 

“I think I could do with a walk.” Lynn nods a little too enthusiastically. 

“Stay away from the press, mom.” I warn standing up and squaring off with the mothers. 

“They’re at the White House.” She says innocently. 

“They’re out front, too, and you know it.” I counter. 

“Joshua, I do not work for the President.” 

I should have known my mother would not be dissuaded. “Mom!” But I watch hopelessly as my mother and Donna’s mother disappear from the room. I look over at Bob Moss, who merely shrugs then turn to Donna. 

Her eyes are wide and mirror mine. “You better call CJ.” 

TBC


	12. Cardinal Rules

"Sam!" 

"Sam! Mr. Seaborn!" 

There are shouts all around me. Suddenly the trio of reporters who have been following my doomed candidacy has turned into a swarm of reporters from all over the country. Cardinla Rule: If you want press coverage you just need a scandal. Toby said the best way to handle it is a simple `no comment'. 

"Sam! Did you know your former campaign manager was having an affair with his assistant?" Shouts one. 

"Is that why he left your campaign?" Shouts another. 

"How long has the affair been going on?" Shouts yet another. 

"Mr. Seaborn, when you were on trips with the President, was the Deputy Chief of Staff sharing rooms with his assistant on the taxpayers dime?" Okay, that's really enough. 

"Don't be ridiculous." I snap and I can hear Toby sighing behind me. 

"Here we go." Toby mutters. 

"So you were unaware of the affair?" 

"I'm aware of the fact that Josh Lyman and Donna Moss have always acted with integrity and professionalism. The President is lucky to have such dedicated and talented public servants." 

"Did Josh Lyman tell you about the affair?" 

"It's not an affair." I correct him. 

"Sources from George Washington Hospital are stating for the record that Josh Lyman referred to Donna Moss as his fiancé. To your knowledge, are they engaged?" 

"Look, both of my friends are single adults and have as much right to a personal life as anyone. They have worked tirelessly to serve the President and the citizens of this country. If they were fortunate enough to find love along the way; more power to them. My prayers are with them and I hope that Donna and the baby are both back home where they belong very soon." 

"Whose home? Is she living with her boss?" 

"No comment." Toby cues me in my ear. 

"I'm sure that dealing with their medical emergency has made them grateful they have health insurance. When I get to Congress, I want to make sure that everyone can be assured of the same level of health care available to members of Congress." I pivot. I shoot, I score. 

"Are you now, or have you in the past, covered up the affair between your good friend and his assistant?" Okay, maybe not. 

"I have no further comment on that subject." 

"Will either of them be playing any role in your campaign going forward?" 

"Does Josh Lyman continue to consult on your campaign?" 

"I have no further comment on the subject. Me and my team will be spending the day on a run through for the debate with my opponent. I look forward to seeing all of you then. Thank you." I disengage from the horde and walk quickly into our campaign office. 

"What did I tell you before we got out of the car?" Toby asks me predictably. 

"Don't make any comments." I drone like a kid regurgitating a math lesson. 

"Don't make any comments." He repeats. "Those quotes will be all over the news here and in D.C." He reminds me. 

"My friends are my friends. I'm not going to spin them." I shoot back. 

"I'm not asking you to spin them, I'm telling you to shut up about them. Josh would be the first person to tell you to stay away from them while they're radioactive like this." 

"He did." I admit. "That's exactly what he told me last time I spoke to him." 

"But you decided to ignore him, ignore us both, because…" Toby trails off. 

"Because you two are trying to win the election. I'm just trying to do the right thing." I answer. "I'm sunk here, Toby. Let's be honest. So if I'm going down, I'd just as soon go down supporting my friends." I smile and Toby grimaces and shakes his head. 

"You're an idiot." He growls. "But you're our idiot, so let's run through the debate answers again." 

****************************************** 

"How's everyone doing in here?" He asks and I'll deny it if anyone repeats it, but I'm glad to see a Republican. 

"Matt." I chuckle and stand up from beside Donna's bed to clasp his shoulder in the male version of a hug. "You sure you want to be seen around here?" 

"Being seen with you is never good for my rep." Matt jokes. "But I had to come visit the beautiful Mother to be. He leans down to kiss Donna's cheek and places a vase of flowers on the table next to her. "How's it going gorgeous?" 

Donna offers a weak smile. "Better now that you're here." 

"Well sure. This one is useless in a clutch." Matt tilts his head toward me and I can see Bob Moss trying to figure out the dynamics here. 

"Matt, this is Donna's father, Bob Moss. Bob, this is Matt Skinner; a good friend of ours who happens to be a Congressman…from the dark side." 

"Pleasure to meet you, sir. Your daughter is one of the finest people in Washington. You should be very proud of the work she does here." Matt proclaims and Bob's chest visibly puffs out. 

"Thank you, Congressman, I am. Both her mother and I are." Bob replies. 

"Speaking of Mrs. Moss, are you aware she and your mother are exchanging information with members of the press camped downstairs?" Matt asks in a quiet voice. 

"We're very aware." I drawl. 

"Then I shouldn't be worried?" He confirms. 

"Oh, you should be very worried. We're just unable to stop it despite being aware of it." I explain. 

"Ah." Matt answers and visibly flinches. "Good luck with that." 

"Thanks for the flowers, Matt, they're lovely." Donna gushes. Sheesh! I gave her flowers too. Did she go all mushy and grateful with me? No. Instead, she blames me for being here in the first place…which I guess is partly true, but still… 

"Everything is going to be fine, Donna. Anyone who's strong enough to deal with Josh on a regular basis, can get through this with no problem." Matt assures her. 

"I'll keep that in mind." Donna replies. 

"Can I, uh, speak to you privately for a minute?" Matt asks me and I nod before telling Donna and her Dad I'll be right back. 

"You need to make a statement. Make it soon." Matt urges. 

"C.J.'s taking care of all the-" 

"C.J. is spinning her little heart out; nobody's better, but this has to come from you or Donna and since Donna is…" 

"Yeah." I run my hands down my face and wish he was wrong. "When's it coming?" 

"4:30 eastern so they can hit the dinner hour in all the time zones. Haffley is heading it up himself. Get out in front of it. Announce you're getting married and make it a non-story." Matt suggests. 

"We're not- I mean, I hope we are, but she's getting all stubborn about it and I'm not going to pressure her when she's so sick. Every little thing just sends her over the edge. She doesn't even know about the Marsh thing." 

"Good, she shouldn't. That's protecting the woman you love and that's how it should be. But making a statement yourself? That's also protecting her. I can help you with it if you want, but it should come from you here, not at the White House. Take the political   
crap out of the equation." I give him a dry look. "As much possible, anyway." 

"Right." I sigh. 

"I've got one more thing." Matt tells me. 

"One MORE thing? Like the one you already mentioned isn't enough?" Yes, I'm a little cranky, so I start to pace a bit. 

"It's for Sam." Matt explains and I stop dead in my tracks. 

"Take it to Toby." 

"I can't." 

"Why not? Toby's running the show now." 

"He shouldn't be." Matt states. 

"Are you gonna- After seeing her in there, you're gonna say that I should have-" I sputter. 

"No, that's not what I'm saying. Of course your place is here. But that doesn't change the fact that you're the one who should be running Sam's campaign. Toby is good, but Sam needs more than good right now. He needs you." 

"I'm going to remind you that you said that at a later date." 

"I'll deny it." He shrugs. 

"I can't be within a nautical mile of his campaign right now." I tell him emphatically. 

"Please. This is California we're talking about; and the 47th to boot. Rich white people who've been married more than twice and more than a few of whom ended up married to the `assistant' they were sleeping with. If anything it will tarnish some of Sam's naiveté." 

"Nice." I roll my eyes. 

"I have a lead on something, but my source will never talk to Toby or Sam. It has to be you." Matt sounds like he's on a spying mission. 

"You're going to help a Democrat bring down a Republican?" I laugh. 

"Webb is a putz and gives us good Republicans a bad name." 

"Good Republicans? OXYMORON!" I reply. 

"Do you want my lead or not?" This is the moment of truth. Do I take the lead, work it, and hand it over to Toby or do I keep my nose the hell out of it? Who do I think I'm fooling? Of COURSE I take the lead. 

"Give it to me." 

"Webb had an intern who had some…qualms about what he'd observed in Webb's office and asked for re-assignment." 

"And that intern ended up in your office?" I guess. 

"As a matter of fact he did. He did a great job for me and we've kept in touch. Anyway, when Wilde had his improbable win against Webb, the guy was thrilled and didn't mind telling everyone about it. He was in town two nights ago and we went out for a beer and he got…talkative; more so than he had in the past. This guy has good ethics and he'd never elaborated on why he wanted out of Webb's office before. He didn't say that much two nights ago, except…" 

"Except he let enough slip to give you an idea of where the bodies are buried?" I guess again. 

"Yep." Matt reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card. "If you give him my name, he'll talk to you." 

"Is there anything else I should know about this, Matt?" I look at him pointedly and it takes him a few seconds to get my meaning. 

"No. He doesn't play on my team." Now it's Matt's turn to roll his eyes. "He's a good kid who happens to possess both ethics and some serious negotiating skills." 

"Then what's he doing in Washington?" I quip. 

"This is what I'm saying." Matt smiles back. "Make your statement and then talk to this guy. I don't know if anything can help Sam at this point, but it can't hurt. " 

I tap the card on the side of my hand. No, it can't hurt. And it may go a long way in repairing the rift between Sam and me if I can help from the sidelines in some way. Now I just have to figure out a statement. 

****************************************** 

It takes me awhile, but I manage to make an initial call to Matt's `guy' Justin Moore, as well as put together a statement for the press. I'd run it by C.J. but Matt's right (though it pains me to say it) this must stay as far from the White House as possible. 

The result is a feature on the cable news networks that I have no doubt will make it over to the national news networks and on into the blogosphere. I've seen it twice now, but this is Donna's first viewing. Since I left out a few things from our original conversation about news coverage, I'm a little nervous about her reaction here. Both my mom and Lynn Lyman are looking smug which seems to be making Bob Moss a little nervous; smart man. 

"Washington insiders have been all abuzz about the latest Washington scandal; Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman and his assistant are having a baby." The reporter intones. "White House Deputy Chief of Staff   
Josh Lyman made these comments himself today." 

"I'm sure I give the President 10 reasons a day to fire me, but this isn't one of them." I hear myself saying to the gaggle I spoke to outside the hospital earlier. "Though I'll tell you honestly that if it came to a choice between a job I love and the woman   
I love; I'd pick the woman." 

"C.J. Craig used her Press Secretary podium to further the point." The reporter continues. 

"There's nothing to see here, people. Yes, they work together, they work together extremely well, to the benefit of the American people and the President of the United States. Donna's reviews and raises are given by Leo McGarry, not Josh Lyman, and there has never been so much as a hint of unprofessional behavior. None of us even knew they had begun a romantic relationship until Donna Moss was hospitalized for pregnancy complications. Besides, anyone who has ever seen them working together clearly understands that it's Donna who is in charge of Operations, not Josh Lyman." 

"So if this is all true, what is the big deal? A lot according to Mary Marsh and the Republican leadership." The reporter cues up the next sound bites and I cringe at what Donna's reaction might be. 

"The President and his staff are held to a higher standard and should take their roles seriously, act like they are leading the country and not leading us to the devil. If Ms. Moss wants to be taken seriously in politics and by this country in general, she should spend a little more time working and a little less time sleeping with her boss." I hear Donna's gasp of shock and although I can't bring myself to look at her face, I reach over and take her hand. Then it's   
Haffley's turn. 

"Once again, the Bartlet administration is demonstrating it's total lack of understanding in regards to American values. If they did, they would demand the resignation of both of these Government employees immediately." Haffley expounds. What a windbag. 

I watch my mom's face light up when she and Lynn Moss appear onscreen. 

"Mrs. Lyman, what has been your reaction to the statement put out by Mary Marsh about your son and Donna Moss?" 

"I'm sorry, who?" My mother deadpans. 

"Mary Marsh. She made a comment stating the President should fire your son and Donna Moss." 

"Is she an elected official of some kind?" Lynn Moss asks innocently. 

"She represents a Christian coalition." The reporter supplies. 

"I'm sorry, I've never heard of her. Does she know our children?" Mom asks again. 

"I can't imagine she does, Sarah. Otherwise she'd never suggest such an awful thing. Josh and Donna haven't done anything to deserve that kind of response." Lynn adds. 

"Can you tell us how your daughter and grandchild are doing, Mrs. Moss?" the reporter tees it up for them. 

"It's been a tough few days, but with Josh at her side, taking care of her and the baby, I have no doubt they will all be just fine." Lynn explains. 

"Just like Donna helped Josh recover after he was shot at Rosslyn." Mom points out. "I don't think my son would have ever made it through all that without Donna's help. It was so obvious to all of us then that there was something special between the two of them, but they didn't seem to notice it…until just recently, anyway. We just want their new family to be left in peace right now. It's hard enough for them to go through this emotional rollercoaster without the rest of the country prying into their personal life and making declarations about their personal decisions." 

"And yet, it's the nature of politics that that is precisely what will continue to happen, right Andrea?" The reporter summarized and his counterpart picked it up. 

"We beg smart, talented people to serve their country, but we toss them out the moment they don't live up to our personal expectations. Two people who work together at the White House fell in love and they're having a baby. That sounds like a pretty normal story anywhere else in the country." Andrea takes the handoff and tosses it back. 

"Regardless of any political fallout, we send our best wishes to them for a speedy recovery." The reporter ends the segment. 

There's a moment of silence while we wait for Donna's reaction to all this. She turns to our mothers first. 

"You two should spin for C.J. You make quite the tag team." She smiles. "And you went out there and made a statement without telling me?" She turns to me. "You're lucky it was well done." 

I pause, unsure of whether or not I'm out of the doghouse. "You're not pissed about the Mary Marsh quote?" 

Donna looks over at me puzzled. "Who's Mary Marsh?" 

We all break out into laughter. God, what a woman! 

******************************************* 

"What do you know about El Diablo manufacturing?" 

"You are not calling me at Sam's campaign headquarters; we discussed this." I remind him. 

`It's fine. It's an anonymous line." He tells me and I can hear the smile in his voice. What the hell? 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"I'm sure there are many people at GW hospital that are interested in Sam's campaign." 

"I'm hanging up now. When the pain meds you've stolen wear off, you can call my cell, from a pay phone, like we talked about." I'm about to hang up, when his `no, no, no's' stop me. 

"I am feeling no pain but it has nothing to do with medication. I just had a very illuminating meeting. It was about El Diablo manufacturing." He tells me. 

"Fascinating I'm sure but-" 

"You know who else is fascinated by El Diablo Manufacturing? Chuck Webb." He says quickly. "He's very interested in it, and in it's Vice-President Lisa Monroe." 

"If this is some tawdry sex thing, Joshua…" 

"It is. But that's not all it is. El Diablo manufactures fire arms, my friend; big, nasty guns. Now remind me, who chairs the committee that regulates that particular area of commerce." 

"Uh…that would be Chuck Webb." I answer quietly, my excitement growing. 

"DING, DING, DING! The man wins a prize." Josh shouts. 

"Enough with the ding, ding, dings. Is this rumor or proof?" I ask. 

"I have some paperwork I need to send you. Where's the nearest Kinko's?" 

I rattle off the location and wait for him to confirm it. 

"Got it. I'll send it over in about a half hour." He promises. Holy Shit. He's got proof? How does he get these things accomplished on the other side of the country while Donna is in the hospital. "But Toby? This can NOT get back to my source. He's got a future to look out for. You'll have to find another way to confirm the info and use that as your sourcing." 

"I think we can handle that. How's Donna?" 

"She's amazing." Again, I can hear the smiling. "And getting stronger every day." 

"That's great; really good." I nod even though he can't see me. "Watch your back over there." 

"I will. You take care of Webb. He could win this thing Toby!" 

"Joshua!" I protest the out loud proclamation. 

"I said, `could' Toby, not `would'." He laughs at my superstition. 

"Well, that's probably okay then." I admit. "Go take care of Donna." 

"I will." He hangs up and I look around for someone to share this incredible secret with. There's nobody. Sam's at a thing and the rest of these juvenile delinquents can't be trusted with the code for the copier let alone anything more explosive. I know! I pick up the phone and dial. 

"Hey, C.J., how's it going?...Not much… just a sex/bribery scandal that may shake up a certain special election…" 

TBC


	13. Cardinal Rules

“Hey, J.” 

Amy pounces on me as soon as I walk into the lobby. 

“Good morning.” 

“Things are getting a little rough out there.” She gestures to the hoard of conservatives that hate me, and more importantly hate Donna, I just had to beat my way through. 

“Whatever.” I shrug. 

“You’re not worried about all this scandal spotlight on you?” 

I laugh out loud. I can’t help it. “Worried about this? Amy, I was shot. My girlfriend and my child’s good health are jointly hanging on by a thread, and you think I’m worried about bad press?” 

“Maybe not when you put it that way.” 

“Maybe not.” 

“That’s exactly the kind of thing you should say to a guy like me.” Says Danny Concannon popping up next to me. 

“I really don’t think I should do an interview.” 

“I really think you should, you want to know why?” 

“Because you talked to CJ and she already okay’d it.” 

“That, and we went to college together Josh. I was there the day you got your Fullbright letter.” 

I stop at my desk and run a hand down my face. Danny and Amy have followed me inside. Danny’s looking at me expectantly. 

“Well, I’m not going to do it NOW.” I say to him. 

“Okay!” he says in his perky Danny way and turns and leaves. 

“You’re seriously not going to do a whole interview.” Amy says. 

“I have no idea. I just got here.” What the hell does she want? 

“How’s Donna?” 

Oh, PLEASE not the concerned friend “I miss you” crap! 

“Fine.” I say, breaking eye contact and moving things around my desk. I really need to get a temp in here. 

“Josh.” Amy says again. 

“What?” I stop and look up at her. 

“Seriously. How are things?” 

“THINGS are fine, Amy.” 

“You’re not worried?” 

“I’m worried about exactly what I just told you I was worried about.” 

“Josh, you work in the White House!” 

“I work in the White House?” I mock. “Shit! I should probably watch the things I say on national television. Oh wait! That ship has already sailed.” 

“Josh…” 

“Amy, I am not married to someone else. I am not having an illicit affair with my secretary behind my wife’s back. Sooner or later, those idiots out there are going to figure that out and wonder why the hell they even cared about who I slept with.” 

“You’re not worried about your career?” 

“No! I’m worried about my BABY! I’m worried about the woman I love.” She flinches there. “My career…Amy, this is not going to tank my career. You and Donna, you just don’t get it. This…” I wave my hand around my office. “…is important to me, but remotely as important to me as she is and my child. Those people out there and on t.v. are not going to make me unemployable to Democrats. This isn’t a political scandal.” 

“So, you and Donna, you’re not…” She drifts off and looks away. 

“Not what?” 

“You’re not just doing the right thing here because she’s pregnant? You actually love her?” 

I pause. Oh, I see what she’s doing here. 

“I love her more than anything else in the world, Amy.” I say quietly. I want to add that I always have, but I don’t think I can be that mean right now. 

“She’s good for you.” Amy nods. “She takes care of you.” 

“We take care of each other.” 

“Well, I’m just going to head back to my office.” She says, hooking a thumb over her shoulder. “Stuff keeps falling down around me over there.” 

“I know the feeling.” I mumble and sit down to turn on my computer. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I click the lap top shut and look thoughtfully over to Josh. He’s moving around the apartment, turning off lights and turning the television to a Singers and Standards music channel. He’s adorable. He’s trying to create a soothing environment for me because every time I turn on the television, someone calls me a whore. 

What I just read online was very enlightening. I think I understand now what’s going on in Josh’s head. I’ve read that men can get freaked out by their partner being pregnant. They start to envision her as a mother and it decreases their desire for sex; or in the alternative, they get creeped out by the fact that there’s another human being inside their partner and they’re afraid that either A) they’ll harm the baby; or B) the baby will figure out what they’re doing and that’s just the sort of thing Josh would think of. 

So, before I go ahead and do the only thing I can think of to rectify this situation and get me some sex, I’ll need some other answers first. 

“Josh?” 

“Yeah?” he drops down next me and throws his arm over my shoulders. 

“We’ve always been honest with each other, right? You’ve never lied to me.” 

“No.” 

“You haven’t always been honest with me?” 

“No, I’ve never lied to you.” He confirms. 

“So, you moving me in here had nothing to do with doing the right thing for the media and trying to reduce the heat on the President?” 

Yeah, you heard me right. While I was in the hospital, Josh and our parents moved me into his apartment. The only thing left of mine at my apartment is my furniture, which my roommate needs anyway. And just so she didn’t get completely screwed, Josh gave her my half of the rent for the rest of the lease. She made out pretty good, I think. Josh told me that he didn’t want me to have to beat my way through reporters every day when I got home. Of course, his little excuse was later shot to hell when I was told I won’t be returning to work for a while. 

“Donna, you will recall I was the one begging you to come to California with me before either one of us knew about the baby. It was humiliating and I did anyway because I’m ridiculously in love with you.” He says very slowly and very firmly. 

“I just want to be sure.” I nod. 

“Even before Election Night, Donna, I wanted to be with you.” 

“Okay.” I say. 

“All right?” 

“Yes.” 

“You’re okay?” 

“Oh yeah. In fact, I think I’m going to take a bath.” 

His eyes get real wide and he swallows, then pulls the laptop to his lap and opens it up. “Okay.” He squeaks. 

Oh yeah, my friends. Game. On. 

I throw him my best saucy look over my shoulder and make my way to the bathroom. The point is not for him to follow, though I certainly won’t kick him out if he does. 

A cardinal rule of seduction is to first, make the man want you so bad he thinks he just might go blind. 

I turn the water on in the bathtub and start to hum as I putter around the bathroom looking for my bubbles. I’m not that great of a hummer, but I must also give him reminders that I’m about to be naked in his bathtub. 

It’s become my habit when I get undressed to study my body. I’m constantly looking for the changes to it and I grin when I see a few new ones. 

Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance. 

I moan loudly as I sink down into the water. That was actually involuntary, but it definitely furthers my cause, so I take it. The hot water is very soothing and I close my eyes and listen to the music softly flowing in from the living room. 

I am feeling very relaxed in here. I wonder if this is what the baby feels like floating around in there. 

I think a nice soothing bath would do wonders for Josh, too, but he’ll never come in here with me right now. Baby steps though. I’ll get him. 

When I feel the water start to get cold, I sigh and rise out of the water and wrap my body in a big fluffy towel. 

It’s time. 

“Josh! Josh, I need help!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She moans and I drop my head back onto the couch and press my palms to my eyes. 

What the hell is the matter with me!? 

The love of my life, the woman of my dreams, is naked in that bathroom right now moaning. Why the HELL am I not in there with her? She is the same Goddess-like Donna she’s always been, and I swear to God, I don’t mean to sound like a pervert, but her breasts look bigger, too. 

What man with a pulse would not be tearing his clothes off right now in his extreme haste to get to her? 

I hear some splashing and the water begin to drain. Thank God my hell is over. 

“Josh! Josh, I need help!” 

I pop off the couch and head for the bathroom. I am, after all, her knight in shining armor. 

When I get to the bathroom, I’m stopped cold by what I see. Donna’s in nothing but a towel. Her face is flushed from the hot water. Her hair is starting to curl from the humidity and …. 

She just dropped the towel. 

Oh. 

My. 

God. 

Cardinal Rule: When a woman is naked in front of you…SAY SOMETHING!! 

“Um…” So much for something witty. “Your breasts are bigger.” 

Her eyes go all wide-eyed and innocent. “Really?” 

I nod like an idiot. 

She brings her hands up to them and almost weighs them in her hands. “Think so?” 

I nod again. 

“You made them like that, Joshua.” Her voice has dropped like a whole octave. Her eyes are all smokey. I don’t remember them looking like that on Election Night. She takes a step towards me. 

“STOP!” I squeak, holding up my hand like Officer Crupkey. She arches a brow at me and I begin waving my hand around at her like I’m a drunk air traffic control man and I begin to even sound stupider than I look. “You’ve got a… you know… a little …there’s a baby in there.” 

Yeah. Well articulated, Josh. Now both she and I can see how I got into Harvard. 

And Yale. I went to Yale, too. 

I need some oxygen to my brain please! 

“Yes, Joshua.” 

Oh God! I remember that voice from Election Night. I really liked that voice. That voice is a huge turn on. 

She closes the distance between us now and runs her hands up my chest to my shoulders. “It’s a baby that YOU put there. You’re very virile.” 

“I am?” She arches an eyebrow at me again. “Yes, I am. I very much am.” She called me virile on Election Night, too and it was a total turn on. 

“Every part of my body is super sensitive, Josh.” She says with a little moan. “Every. Part.” Her hand slides down my pants and there is now no way in hell to convince either her or myself that I don’t want to push her up against the vanity and do bad, bad things.   
“Every part of my body is aching for you to touch it.” She whispers before pulling my earlobe into her ear. 

I groan and my hand slides up her hip. My thumb grazes her stomach on its way and I can feel that it’s hard and not as flat as it was. Suddenly, I jump back like I’ve been burned. 

She doesn’t look surprised. I turn and beat feet out of the bathroom and she follows me. 

Naked. 

I look to the front bay window and thank God the blinds are closed. They’ve been closed since Donna got back from the hospital. 

“I can’t, Donna.” I say quickly. 

“Oh, yes you can.” She says as she slowly follows me around the apartment. 

“That body doesn’t belong to me. That body belongs to the baby and the baby has every right to have a nice, safe, undisturbed environment. They don’t need Daddy…” 

“They don’t need Daddy what?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. 

“Poking around in there.” 

She laughs, but she’s classy enough to try to stop. “Josh! You can’t get to the baby.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“I do. It’s impossible.” 

“How do we know that? What baby has come out and said, ‘Daddy poked me in the head?’” 

“You’re not going to poke the baby in the head.” She smiles advancing on me again. I have nowhere to go. The back of my knees hit the chair in the corner of the living room and I fall back. Donna straddles me. 

Naked. 

“Pregnancy sends a woman’s hormones into overdrive, Josh.” 

“You know, I’m starting to see evidence of that.” 

She slides her hands under my t-shirt and her thumbs graze my nipples. This is major fantasy fulfillment here. All we’re missing is this being in the chair in my office, folks. 

“You know, Donna,” I swallow when her lips attach themselves to my neck. “I’ll admit I don’t remember the last time with crystal clarity, but I do remember it being rather… enthusiastic.” I gulp as her hand slides back down into my pants. “And you were pretty sick and really tired, and I’m afraid of, you know…” 

She lifts her head up and looks straight into my eyes. This is the look that I absolutely cannot resist. She gave me this look and I gave her a job. 

“What are you afraid of, Josh?” she asks quietly. 

“Hurt…hurting you.” I can barely get the words out. 

She smiles and slowly shakes her head. “You’re not going to hurt either one of us.” 

“Do you swear?” 

“I swear.” 

I believe her. How can I not? She’s never had anything but my best interests at heart. She can see the exact moment I cave, too, and instantly pulls my shirt over my head. It’s not long before my pants follow. 

I’ll never look at this chair the same way again. Every time I glance in its direction, I’ll remember the steamy, sticky sex we had in it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ooohh, how I’ve missed this man. My whole body seems to be welcoming him back. His lips travel lazily around my neck and move to my chest. I lean back to give him more room to move around and I feel the muscles in his arms brace to support me. He won’t let me fall and I’m very much turned on. 

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at this chair again and not think of it as the sex chair. That was some damn fine sex we just had here. 

Josh stands up and slowly brings me to the bedroom. He lays me gently out on the bed and leaves the room, returning with my clothes. I smile gratefully and pull them on as he does the same, then I lean back into the pillows. But when he gets onto the bed, he pushes my t-shirt up so he can study my stomach better. He runs his fingers over the very slight swell of my belly. 

“There you are.” He says softly and kisses my skin. “Can you feel it yet?” 

“Not yet. Soon though.” 

“I don’t like calling the baby an it.” He says scrunching up his face. 

“In a few weeks, we’ll be able to find out what it is and they’ll take on more of an identity.” 

“What do you think? Boy or a girl?” 

“I don’t know.” I sigh. “My mom said she was really sick with me, but not my brother. One of the old wives tales is that girls make you more sick.” 

“Yeah, but I think you’re a little beyond the old wives tale there.” He chuckles. “You don’t sound convinced though.” 

“Well, I also read that if the baby has a lower heart rate, it’s a boy; and if it’s a higher heart rate, it’s a girl. The baby’s heart rate has been in the 130’s, so I’m kinda thinking a boy.” 

“Yeah?” he perks up a bit. 

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “It’s just a theory.” 

He lays his cheek against my stomach and wraps his arms around my waist. My hand falls to his head and gently starts to stroke his hair. “I’m so glad you’re both okay.” He whispers. 

“Well, if we were totally out of the woods, I’d be back at work.” 

“You’re home. That’s good enough for me.” 

He turns his face towards me and closes his eyes. They fly back open when he hears me say, “I’m sorry things suck for you right now.” 

“Things don’t suck for me.” He says picking his head up. 

“Josh, every time I turn on the t.v., someone is saying something terrible about you. I know you’re getting a hard time on the hill, and there’s reporters camped outside the front door. Plus, you don’t have your assistant with you at work, so the place is probably going to hell in a handbasket.” 

“I have a temp.” He grins. 

“Does she do notecards?” 

“She answers the phone.” 

“See? You have to scramble to be prepared.” 

“Donna, baby, I have a thick skin. Politics bounces right off me.” 

“The stuff they’re saying about me doesn’t.” I whisper. 

“No.” he says. He pushes himself up to kiss me. “It doesn’t. 

TBC


	14. Cardinal Rules

"Where did you get this?" I ask. 

"Does it matter?" he takes another puff of his cigar. "We have it and once we independently verify it…" 

"Of course it matters." I whisper shout. I don't know why I whisper shout since we're alone in Toby's office and almost all the staff is gone for the night. "Where did it come from?" 

"A reliable source in D.C." Toby blows a smoke ring. "Now the question is whether or not we want to use it in the debate tomorrow night or make it a separate thing." 

"What happened to the question of whether or not we use it at all?" I demand. 

"Are you kidding me? This is your ticket into Congress. Of course we're going to use it." Toby sputters. "When your opponent does something unethical and immoral, you exploit it; Cardinal rule." 

"This…affair is none of our damn business and we can't verify the other stuff." I remind him. 

"It's very much our business. It's the electorate's business. People have a right to know and then they can decide how that factors into who they vote for. We'll have it verified by tomorrow." 

I lean toward him impassioned by the debate. "Explain to me how this," I point to the pictures and the papers, "would be any different than what's happening to Josh and Donna right now? How can you even consider destroying innocent lives over- Toby, this isn't what I want this election to be about!" 

"I'm not indifferent to that, but that's not the hand we've been dealt." Toby says calmly. "We've had less than 90 days to try to get an overwhelmingly Republican district to re-evaluate sending their incumbent, Republican Congressman back to D.C.! And I'll tell you something else. This is completely different from Josh and Donna. Chuck Webb is married, and the woman he's sleeping with is the Vice-President of and daughter of the owner of a business he regulates. Maybe it's time for you to patch things up with Josh so you don't let your misplaced guilt interfere with-" 

"Misplaced guilt?! What do I have to be guilty about? He's the one who kept information from me. Do you think for one minute, I wouldn't have put him on a place to D.C. myself if I had any idea what was going on with Donna? Do you?" 

"No. But the question is; do you?" Toby counters and it stops me cold. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"It means that part of you is still pissed at him for not being here, seeing this through with you. Part of you still figures if Josh Lyman were running this campaign a miracle would happen and you'd be on your way to Congress. I'm telling you that this is the miracle you've been waiting for!" 

"Hold it. Just hold on a second." Maybe it's the change of venue for me, but I've been slow on the uptake ever since I got out to the West coast. "This `miracle' of yours…is there any remote possibility that the information may have come from Josh?" 

Toby looks up at the ceiling before he answers and that's all the confirmation I need. "There are several interested parties in D.C. who are looking out for you." 

"Uh-huh." I chuckle humorlessly. "I yell at him, essentially fire him, and I won't even go into the names I was calling him in my head. Now he's over there trying to take care of Donna, the baby, the press and the DCOS offices without Donna…and he's tracking down informants to help me with my campaign?" 

"He's your friend, Sam." Toby shrugs. "And…there might be some latent guilt on his side of the country too. Don't you figure he has to be feeling pulled in two different directions right now between his best friend and the woman he loves; both of whom need his help?" 

"I'm not even thinking about using this without talking to Josh." I reply. 

"Please, God, don't do it from here." Toby warns me as walk out the door. 

I walk a couple blocks before I pull out my cell and call Josh's cell. Yes, I know it's like 2 am there, but I'll bet any amount of money that he's still awake and his cell phone is on him. He answers on the first ring, wide awake. See? 

"It's me." I tell him. 

"You shouldn't be-" 

"Yeah, yeah, you and Toby live in an alternate universe where someone in Webb's campaign is actually worried enough about my numbers to spy on my phone calls." I laugh. 

"You doing okay over there?" he asks quietly. 

"Funny. I was just going to ask you the same thing." I respond. 

"I'm lying on the couch with Donna asleep in my arms. She's feeling better and even gaining some weight. Life is pretty damn good right at the moment." He tells me. 

"I'm glad to hear it." I pause. "Look, I appreciate the help, but I can't use the stuff you sent me." 

"Are you daft? You have to use it." Josh gets louder, then quiets down again when he remembers Donna is sleeping, I guess. "Sam, this isn't about Donna and me, this is about Webb and who he's associating with in and out of bed." 

"How did you know I was-" 

"It's hard to watch the news these days and not make the comparison." Josh notes. "You need to snap out of it and do what you need to do to get elected." 

"Win at all costs?" I scoff. "I thought we were better than that." 

"We are. When you're elected I have full confidence that you will not take kick backs from companies you regulate, nor will you have an affair with a married woman. Don't the people of the 47th deserve better representation than they're getting?" He asks. 

"Toby doesn't know if I should use it during the debate or leak it before hand." I mention. I know exactly what to do, of course, but out of…curiosity I'd like to get Josh's take on it. 

"Are you asking for my opinion?" 

"Not if you don't want to give it." I snark. 

"Sam…if it were anyone besides Donna, you know I'd bet standing right next to you, right?" 

"If she's feeling up to it, maybe you two could come out here for election night?" 

"We are the last two people you should want within a city mile of you on election night." He laughs. "How can you be such a great advisor to a candidate and such a lousy candidate?" 

"Hey!" 

"Seriously, you have all the political instincts of a Kamikaze pilot." He continues. 

"Thanks SO much there pal!" I reply hotly. 

"You're going to be a great Congressman, though." He immediately adds. Then it hits me. Josh Lyman thinks I'd be a great Congressman, and Josh has a ton of experience dealing with members of Congress. 

"Honestly?" 

"Honestly. I wouldn't lie to you, buddy." He notes and we both think back to what happened over Christmas. "I couldn't tell you then, Sam, not all of it. I still haven't told you all of it, but I never lied to you." 

"Then you can tell me the rest when you come out here for election night." I decide. 

"You're nuts." 

"No shit. You think a sane person would promise a widow he'd leave his White House job to run in a special election if her dead husband should happen to win in the general?" 

"Fair point." He concedes. 

"Please come. Win or lose, I want to be with my friends that night." I explain. 

"If Donna can fly, we'll come." He promises. 

"Thank you; for everything." I remember to add. "You've got enough on your plate without trying to win this election from over there." 

"That's what friends do." He says simply. "And you can tell Toby that you should leak it in the morning. It will generate buzz all day, pump up the number of people tuning in to watch, and get the most impact that way." 

"We've got some people on it, but we haven't been able to get a second confirmation on the funds." 

"It's solid, Sam. Trust me on this one." 

"Okay. I will." I decide. "But you better find a way to get here election night then so I have you nice and handy if this backfires." 

"Deal." Josh agrees. "Night, Sam. Good luck tomorrow night." 

I thank him and hang up. Looks like tomorrow could be a long day. 

******************************************* 

"The doctor will let me fly." Donna tells me after I hang up. 

"I know. But I didn't want to agree without checking with you first. See how good I'm getting at this `couple' thing?" 

"You're amazing." She drawls. "Why didn't you just tell Sam you wanted to check with me first?" 

"Cause then he and Toby would make fun of how whipped I am." I answer honestly and get a smack on the side of my head for my trouble. "Ouch." 

"You can just take your whipped self to California without us, then." See how she said `us' just then? I love that. 

"That's not going to work with my plans." I tell her. 

"You have plans? What kind of plans?" She asks. 

"The kind of plans that require us both to be in California." I explain, but she still looks confused. Come on, Donna work with me here. I know you've been very sick, but the mind meld thing still works; I know it! "California has these incredible, romantic beaches." 

"Those sound good." She smiles. 

"There are other bonuses to being in California, too." 

"Such as?" 

"If someone wants to get married there, they don't have to be a resident or get blood tests. Big bonus there, if you ask me." I hate the sight of blood; makes me ill. 

"You don't say." She smirks at me now. 

"Plus, there's no waiting period and it only costs $45! They only take cash though." I add. Since I don't normally carry cash this is important for me to remember; which is why I'm telling Donna. 

"Let me ask you a couple questions." She sits up and wipes the remaining sleep from her eyes. 

"Shoot." 

"You just got off the phone with Sam now." 

"Yes." 

"And you promised him we'd get to California for election night if we could." 

"Yes." So far, the questions have been a piece of cake. I am on a roll. 

"Then how is it that you happen to have all this information about California marriage licenses at your fingertips?" 

"Because I looked into it when I first went to California with Sam." I answer and her eyes get big. 

"In…November?" She confirms. 

"Yeah, that's when we first went out there." Duh. 

"Before…before we found out I was pregnant?" Ah! I get where she's going with this. She wants to know that I wanted to marry her before we knew about the baby. I simply nod. 

"Donna, I've wanted to be with you since the day you walked into my office in Nashua. I didn't just find you valuable as an assistant. I found you invaluable as a partner and as a friend. Election night…that was just the culmination of a long, slightly offbeat courtship. I thought if I had all the information put together when I came back for Thanksgiving, I could talk you into coming to California with me to get married and run Sam's campaign." 

Tears spill over and down her cheeks. "But then I got sick and we found out I was pregnant and then I told you-" 

"Don't. Let's not relive that part. We both panicked a bit while we tried to figure out what to do. The important thing is that we figured it out and we're together. I want us to stay that way and I want the commitment that comes with standing in front of our friends and family and vowing to be a family." 

Donna laughs through her tears. "The special election is 10 days from now. You think we can put together a wedding, in another state, in 10 days?" 

"There's NO WAY we can do that." I note. "But you could do it." 

"What?!" 

"I'm trying to run operations without you; I'm swamped. But you're at home on medical leave. You'd have all day to do…whatever it is you need to do. And did I mention we don't need blood tests? So you don't need me at all until the day of the wedding." 

"Uh-huh." She's giving me an evil eye now, and it's making me nervous. "IF I agree to this crazy scheme, you will be helping me at each step along the way and that includes getting our families out to California." She states her terms. 

"Can't I just give you my credit card for the airline tickets?" I beg shamelessly, but she just shakes her head slowly. 

"Still think this is a great idea?" she prods. 

"It's the best idea I've ever had." I maintain and she melts again. These pregnancy hormones are something else. "So? Will you marry me in California in 10 days?" I ask. 

"Just try to get out of it now, Lyman." She replies and attacks me on the couch. I believe the couch may soon have special memories attached to it just like the chair… I think I'm fine with that. 

******************************************** 

"And don't forget the points on pollution caps." I tell him. Sam doesn't look like he's listening to me. "What did I just say, Sam?" 

"Is there going to be a quiz, Toby?" 

"Yeah, and the moderator out there is going to pick the questions while the California electorate decides on your grade." I expound. 

"Give me a break. We'll be lucky to get to pollution control. If the first question isn't about the stuff we leaked today, I'll eat…" he's unable to find something sufficiently nasty to threaten to eat. This does not bode well. He needs to concentrate on this now and forget about the moral dilemma he's having about using this information. Reluctantly, I dial a number on my cell and hand Sam the phone. 

He gives me a strange look, but takes the phone from me. I see the instant he realizes it's Josh. His face clears and he smiles. Then he gets this huge surprised expression on his face and says, "That's wonderful!" He listens for another minute, nods a couple times and ends the call. 

"What the hell was all that?" I ask him. 

"He said, "Game on"." Sam tells me. 

"No. You said, "That's wonderful!" `That's wonderful' is not a response one gives to the statement, `game on'." I point out. 

"Well, not to you and I; we're writers. But to Josh…" 

"Tell me what he said!" I demand. 

"I know something you don't know." He sing-songs. "And now I'm going out on stage for 90 minutes of Chuck Webb ass kicking and you'll be wondering the WHOLE TIME, what it is that Josh told me. It will drive you insane! And there's nothing you can do about it." 

"I could call Josh." I note, but Sam's grin just gets bigger. "He told me it was a secret and that he was only sharing it with his best friend. Whoops! Looks like you missed out on that one Toby." 

"You're pathetic. You know that right?" I shoot back. 

"Actually, I think the one kept out of the loop is the pathetic one, but you think what you like. We'll see if you still think I'm pathetic after this performance. Later, Toby." He struts out onto the stage like he owns the place. 

I have to admit, while watching their closing statements, that Sam Seaborn is anything but pathetic. He stated his positions clearly and concisely, with deft humor when it was called for. He dealt with the leaked info succinctly without seeming to gloat or lord it over Webb. It was simply the people's right to know whether their Congressman was acting ethically or not. It was a sight to see. 

And when he gets off the stage, glowing in triumph, what does he say as he passes by me? 

"I know something you don't know." 

Pathetic. 

TBC


	15. Cardinal Rules

Ten days. Ten measely days to PLAN A WEDDING. Oh, and plan a wedding IN CALIFORNIA FROM D.C.!! 

But who’s stressing? Certainly not moi who runs the Operations Department for the White House. Me, who briefs the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States on any given issue that pops into his maniacal brain at any given second and makes sure he’s fully prepared to thoroughly kick the ass of whatever poor unfortunate soul of the week that has the extreme misfortune to be in his line of fire. 

A simple wedding certainly shouldn’t freak me out. 

Right? 

*RING* 

“Yes, Joshua?” 

“Hey, Baby, listen, the President got wind of this and so now he and the First Lady are coming, too, so you’ll need to talk to Ron Butterfield about…stuff. But the good news is we get to fly on Air Force One now.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Gotta go.” 

“Yeah.” 

He hangs up and I sigh. This is the way this all has been going. I get quick “Hey, Baby” phone calls where he proceeds to undo everything I just did without even knowing it. That’s, like, the story of Josh. He leaves mass destruction in his wake and is blissfully clueless about it. 

Well as my father, an avid golfer says, “When you’re in a trap, you get out any way you can.” It’s a cardinal rule. 

Time to call in the big guns. 

He picks up on first ring. 

“Donnatella!” 

“Matt, I need your help.” 

“What’s going on?” 

“I need you over here right away. I’m at home.” 

“I’m a member of CONGRESS, Donna. I’m currently doing the work for the people of Connecticut. I do not get ordered around like --” 

“Josh is giving me 10 days to plan a wedding in California.” 

Pause. 

“I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” 

I disconnect the call and sigh. Help is on the way and I already feel significantly less stressed. 

My cell phone rings again. 

“Yes, Joshua.” 

“I think I’m making this more difficult than it needs to be. I am, aren’t I?” 

He’s so sweet sometimes. 

“Not anymore. Matt’s on his way over.” 

Pause. 

“You know what? Screw it. Whatever gets it done.” 

“That’s my boy! There’s the spirit.” 

“He’s going to blow right through that trust fund. It’s going to be the most expensive little wedding EVER.” 

“Probably.” 

“Well, whatever makes your life easier.” 

“I’m sure it hurt to say that.” 

“It did actually.” 

“I’m sure we’ll still be able to send the baby to college.” 

“Harvard’s expensive, Donna.” 

“The University of Wisconsin isn’t near as expensive as Harvard, besides, what with your tuition tax credit, we should be good.” 

“You know, I never thought I’d benefit directly from anything we did in office.” 

“Scary huh? Makes you wonder how we screwed ourselves.” 

“Thanks for bringing me down there, Deputy Deputy Downer.” 

“Unfortunately, I’ll be appearing right from this couch all week.” I reply dryly. 

“You have some very expensive entertainment on its way.” 

“You got me a stripper!?” 

“I meant Matt.” 

“Oh.” 

“Don’t sound so disappointed.” He says dryly as the doorbell rings. 

“The calvary’s here.” I smile. 

“Have fun.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“You gave her ten days.” 

I look up to my office doorway and there’s Matt, leaning against the doorframe and looking at me like HE’S the one I gave ten days to. 

“I’m sorry, sir!” the temp comes in quickly. “He got by me.” 

“That’s because he’s a Republican, Shelia. They slither in undetected and jump out at you when least expect it.” 

“So, he can stay?” 

“No, you should call security.” 

“Seriously?” 

“He’s a member of Congress and I’m the Deputy Chief of Staff, Sheila, of course he stays.” 

“Yes, sir.” She walks back out to Donna’s desk and I roll my eyes. 

“Sheila doesn’t understand your humor.” Matt notes. 

“I miss Donna.” 

“She’s at home waiting to wring your neck.” 

“It’s not my fault that’s when the election is.” I whine. “And I thought you were helping her. What are you doing here?” 

“Helping her.” He nods. 

“What do I have to do?” I sigh dramatically. Please let it have nothing to do with colors. 

“I want to see the ring.” 

“What ring?” 

“What ring!? DONNA’S ring!” 

“Oh, I haven’t gotten it yet.” 

“You’re marrying Donna in ten days, almost nine now, and you don’t have a RING for her!?” 

“Well, I was going to pick one up between now and then.” 

“Pick one up.” 

“What?” Why’s he looking at me like that? It’s not like I forgot about it. 

“Get your coat.” He says gesturing towards the door. 

“I’m perfectly capable of picking out a ring.” I drone and look at Matt who’s just staring at me. I, of course, give in. “Okay.” 

“We’re going to Tiffany’s.” He announces. 

“TIFFANY’S!?” I shriek. “I don’t know if you missed it, Matthew, but I have a baby on the way, it’s going to need shoes.” 

“Don’t you think Donna deserves the best?” 

“Of course.” 

“Tiffany’s is the best.” 

“I work for the government --” 

“Oh, don’t go there!” Matt laughs as we leave the lobby. “We grew up in Westport, Connecticut and you went to Harvard and Yale. Not to mention I know how big the trust fund is.” 

“I don’t have access to that trust fund.” I say. He gives me a knowing a look. “Okay, I do have access to it, but I’ve never tried to use it, so I don’t know how to get to it.” He pulls out his phone and scrolls through his contacts. “Who are you calling?” 

“Your mother.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“It’s open!” I call as the doorbell rings. 

“Somebody needs a man for a covert project?!” Calls a familiar voice from the living. 

“I’ll be right out, Mike!” 

I pull Josh’s Mets sweatshirt over my head and slide into my tennis shoes. I smile widely at my ride as I re-enter the living room. 

“How’s the beautiful mother-to-be?” he smiles kissing me on the cheek. 

“No longer throwing up.” 

“I translate that as good then?” Mike asks. 

“Yes.” 

“I thought you were out on medical leave.” 

“I am.” I nod. “That’s why this is covert. I’m not supposed to really be going anywhere and overexerting myself, but Matt’s keeping Josh busy for a while, so I have time to sneak out and look at wedding dresses.” 

“And you think I’M the guy to take with you wedding dress shopping? Is this the part of the pregnancy where the baby sucks the oxygen out of your brain? I know nothing about wedding dresses!” 

“Breathe, Michael!” I jump in. “You don’t have to do anything but drive me around and get me back here through DC rush hour traffic by 6.” 

“Oh, I can totally do that.” He nods, escorting me out of the apartment. “But why wasn’t I asked to handle the Josh thing. Matt would actually be able to give you advice on this.” 

“He said he had a more important mission to handle with Josh.” I shrug. 

“Vague.” Mike nods. 

“Yeah, well, he is a politician.” 

“Good point.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No. Way.” 

“It’s gorgeous!” 

“It costs more than my entire Harvard tuition did!” 

“It’ll look amazing on her graceful fingers. That ring was made for her, man.” 

“Why don’t I just buy her a law degree?” I think I’m suffocating right now. 

“Diamonds are forever.” 

“So’s a law degree. At least that’s the gift that keeps on giving!” 

“She will SO cry when she sees this. And the sex you’ll get…” 

“Really? It’ll be, like, really good sex?” 

“You’re a pervert. Isn’t sex with Donna always good?” 

“Sex with Donna is always amazing, but you’re making it sound like it would be even better.” 

“Oh, totally man.” He nods. “You give a girl a diamond, she gives you an out of body sexual experience. It’s like a cardinal rule.” 

“I really don’t have a counterargument for that.” 

“He needs a size six, please.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That, Donna, is the dress.” 

“That’s what you said about the last one, Mike.” 

“Yeah but this time, I mean it.” 

“Mike…” 

“What do you want from me? I’m the wrong guy for this job. You look hot; that’s good enough for me.” 

“Yeah.” I sigh. 

“Wait a minute!” Mike pulls out his phone and points it at me. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Taking a picture of you in that dress and sending it to Matt.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Shit, that’s nice.” Matt mumbles looking at his phone. 

“What? What are you talking about?” My head has just stopped spinning from the sticker shock of Donna’s ring. 

“Nothing.” Matt says quickly, then starts mumbling again. “I can’t believe he thought to send a picture.” 

“A picture? Did you just get a picture sent to you? Is it porn?” 

“Yes. It’s gay porn from a buddy of mine. Wanna see it?” 

He holds his phone out to me and I hop back. “No thanks!” He laughs and types something into his phone and snaps it shut. 

“We need to look at wedding bands now.” He tells the salesman. 

“We weren’t done!?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Matt says that’s the one!” Mike says looking at his phone. 

“Really?” I smile and look back at my reflection. My eyes immediately tear up. 

“Oh no, Donna! I do not do crying pregnant women. I’m definitely the wrong guy for that. We can call Sam or something.” He sighs when the tears don’t let up. “All right, fine. What am I supposed to do? Hug you or something?” 

“I’m getting married in nine days to the most amazing man.” I gush back at him and he rolls his eyes. 

“You’re getting married in nine days. The rest is open to interpretation.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Hey, baby!” I greet walking through the front door. It’s 6:30 and she’s curled up on the couch in my Mets sweatshirt and sweatpants looking delightfully comfortable. 

“Hey!” she smiles moving her laptop to the side and holding out her arms to me. I love coming home. “Everything go okay with Matt?” 

“I guess.” I huff. We won’t discuss how much money I just spent. Suffice it to say, I probably could have bought a house in Maryland outright with this kind of cash. But as she looks at me beaming and I realize that in just about ten days she’ll be mine forever, I think it’s worth every penny. 

TBC


	16. Cardinal Rules

"Hey! Where are you?" calls Josh from what I can only assume is the front door. 

Josh has moved seamlessly from bellowing for me at the office to bellowing for me at home. This must be stopped. I make no sound in reply and wait for him as he calls his way from the door to the bathroom where   
I am sitting on the floor recovering from my latest bout of `everytime sickness'. Yes, it's gotten much better but I still struggle with it and it's miserable. 

"There you are. Why didn't you answer me?" He asks and sits down next to me. 

"I'm not your pet dog, Joshua. You can't just stand at the door and bellow for me." I snap. 

"It always worked for us at the office." He replies. 

"We are NOT at the office." I bite off as I get up. "I'm not at the office at all, in case you haven't noticed." 

"Of course I've noticed. The place is going to hell in a hand basket." Josh tells me. Great! Now I'll have that mess to look forward to when I finally get cleared to go back to work. I guess that's IF I get cleared back to work. "Is this some kind of pregnancy hormone thing? Cause I don't remember you getting pissed about the bellowing before." 

"No, it's not a pregnancy hormone-" I stop when I turn around to face him and see that he's gotten up too and has something in his hand. Something in a light blue bag. 

"What is that?" I point at the offending object. 

"Just something I picked up for you." He shrugs and holds out the bag. 

"NO! Oh no, you are NOT giving me something from Tiffany's when I'm all pissed at you, Josh Lyman." I tell him emphatically. "I don't want you yelling for me anymore." 

"Okay." He agrees. 

"Okay?" I repeat. 

"It's just a habit from work, I guess. I'll try to stop. You may have to remind me once in awhile." He shrugs again. "This is still pretty new between us, Donna. I'm still trying to navigate the home/work thing and then there's the baby…I just haven't   
quite figured it all out yet, but I'm trying. You're going to have to help me though, or I'm screwed." He admits. 

"That's nothing new." I tease a little bit. 

"No, it's really not, is it?" He teases back. "I wasn't trying to treat you like a dog. It's just that I've waited so long to be able to come home to you," he pauses and pulls me into his arms. "and now that you're here, I just like to see you right away so I call for you." 

My eyes well up with tears. "I guess I can understand that." I allow. Maybe he has something with his hormones theory. 

"Since we're doing mushy and emotional…" He holds the bag up for me again. I reach out to accept it and see my hands are shaking. 

I open the bag and find a ring box inside. I can't even look at him right now. It's just too much. I flip open the box and find the most amazing engagement ring I've ever seen. Not that it's huge or ostentatious; it's just perfect for me, for us…but the size of   
the thing is nothing to sneeze at either. 

"Josh…it's amazing." I tell him through quivering lips. 

"Well, when the woman you're going to marry is amazing, her ring should be amazing too." He reasons. He is SUCH a smart man. For the first time I see evidence of this Fulbright Scholar people keep telling me about. I can't find the words, so I let my body do the talking. I fuse my lips to his while I walk him back toward the bedroom. 

"Donna?" He says my name tentatively. I don't blame him. I was about to take his head off a few minutes ago and now…I have other plans for that part of his anatomy. 

"I think when an amazing man offers his fiancé an amazing ring, then amazing lovemaking should follow. Don't you?" I ask him as I begin to strip off his clothes, piece by piece. 

"Oh, I do. I definitely do." He agrees. "Remind me to call Matt later and thank him, will you?" he mutters. 

"Let's forget about Matt and concentrate on us for a bit." 

"That's a…Jesus, Donna…a great plan…" He moans and I smile at his reaction. Once Josh got over his concerns about making love while I'm pregnant, we've made up for lost time…and there was a lot of lost time to make up for. I mention this only because this time is different from all the others. Maybe it's because of the sweet words he just gave me. Maybe it's because this was the first time we made love while I was wearing the ring he gave me that symbolizes our commitment to each other. But it's sweet, urgent, hot, and sentimental all at the same time. 

My mouth and hands travel over his body as his return the favor. I have to close my eyes against the intensity in his. All the years I imagined this, yearned for this, have culminated in this moment and I want to savor every bit of it. He gives me all of his considerable focus and it shows in my responses to him. Once he joins our bodies I whisper, "I love you" and instead of his usual smart ass remarks he tells me he loves me too. We end up tangled in the sheets of his bed, panting in exhaustion and exhilarated by the incredible experience we just shared. 

"So…you like the ring then?" He deadpans. 

"Well…it's okay." I reply in kind. "Luckily you had help picking it out." 

"How do you know I-" 

"Please. This has Matt Skinner written all over it. Plus, you asked me to remind you to call him to thank him." 

"I guess I blew that one." He grimaces. "But you have to give me points for taking him with me in the first place." 

"I don't have to, but I will." I tell him and give him another kiss. Now I have no illusions about who took whom shopping for my ring, but the truth is that Josh could have blown Matt off and he didn't. So I'm giving credit here. 

"I did well?" 

"You did exceedingly well." I agree. 

"So, if I had to give you news at this point that might not be all that great to you, you'd cut me some slack?" This doesn't sound good at all. I untangle my limbs from his. 

"Joshua Lyman, did you give me an incredible engagement ring to soften the ground for something bad that you've done?" 

"NO! I didn't. That was just a happy coincidence. And for the record, I have not done something bad…I just want to do something that you might not be all that thrilled about." 

"Which would be what?" I ask suspiciously. 

"There seems to be some problems with the get out the vote coordination in the 47th." He announces. 

"And this has what to do with you 7 days before we're getting married?" 

"Sam's special election is in 6 days and he's in desperate need of a political expert. As luck would have it, he has a best friend that…" he trails off when he notices the expression on my face. "No, huh?" 

"If I say `no' you'll stay here with me instead?" I question. 

"Donna, you're my priority; you and this baby. If you say you need me here, this is where I'll stay." 

I ponder this a minute. "When are you leaving?" 

"I can go?" I nod. "That will mean so much to Sam! I called Mom and she said she'd come here tomorrow night and stay here with you until it's time to fly to California with the President." 

"You called your mom?" 

"That was bad?" 

"No. It was very sweet and thoughtful." 

"Good, cause I got to tell you that although she's happy to come stay with you, she is completely stoked about riding on Air Force One." His comment makes me laugh but then I sober at the thought of him leaving me, even for a few days. 

"Tomorrow night, huh?" 

"Then you'll come out the morning of Election Day." He confirms. "You're sure that's okay?" 

"I'd be lying if I said I was happy about it. But it's the right thing to do." I explain. "And you're right; it will mean the world to Sam. Plus, I want a favor in return." 

"Which is?" 

"Five hours in the office tomorrow." 

"Donna…" 

"Just five hours. I'll even sit for most of it! But I'm feeling better and gaining weight and sitting around here is making me insane as evidenced by my little nutty earlier. Five hours; and if I start to feel worn out or sick I'll go straight home I promise." 

"You swear?" 

"Josh, the last thing in the world I want to do is put me or our child back in the hospital. I just need to do something for a few hours." 

"If the doctor okays it, then it's fine with me. But if I see you so much as grimace, I'm sending you home." 

"Josh, that's simply not fair. Of course I'm going to grimace. You've been set loose in the office for ages without supervision." 

"Fair point." He chuckles and kisses me again. "I love you, Donnatella." Music to my ears. 

**************************************** 

"We're concentrating in the wrong areas." The media specialist, Joel Markus, tells me. 

"We're playing to his strengths." Toby argues. 

"He doesn't have enough of them to bank on." Joel shoots back. God almighty, I wish someone would shoot me. 

"We're polling up five points." Toby notes. 

"Of registered voters. That doesn't mean shit right now. Most of the constituents are disgusted by Webb, but they're just as likely to stay home as go out to vote for Sam. They aren't convinced he'll be any better." Joel maintains. 

"Then what do you suggest, Einstein?" Toby quips. 

"We need a new poll in the field of likely voters. We need to get it out now." I turn in shock when I hear the voice of none other than Josh Lyman. "We don't want to be focusing voter turnout efforts where we're turning out Webb supporters or people who aren't going to be voting at all. Ella? Can you get that out today?" He asks my polling expert Ella Turner. 

"Ummm…Can I Sam?" Ella looks between me and the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. 

"I really think you should." I reply smiling. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Cavalry has arrived. 

"Thank God. Can I go back to writing speeches now?" Toby wails. 

"I really think you should." Josh replies laughing. "The candidate and I are going to grab some breakfast." 

"It's nearly 10 pm." Joel tells us. 

"Not on the east coast it isn't." Josh informs him. "While we're gone, can you put together numbers on the street by street for me? The latest you've got?" 

"Sure." Joel agrees and turns to me. "Is he working for us now?" He motions to Josh. 

"I think he's volunteering." I answer. 

"Like hell! I have a fiancé and a baby to support. But since we have some history together I'll cut you some slack on my usual fee." Josh magnanimously offers. "Plus, you're buying me breakfast. Let's go." 

Josh keeps up the casual conversation while we walk down the street to a restaurant that advertises 24 hour breakfast on it's window. I wait until we get seated and order before I ask him the obvious question. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" 

"I heard you might need a hand this week." He shrugs. "And Donna's doing better so I decided to come out and play on the California beaches." 

"I'm glad to have you here, and not just for the political reasons, but are you sure you can stay this time?" 

"Yeah…last time…" 

"You don't have to go into last time with me. I just need to know whether or not you might get yanked back to D.C. again." I interrupt him. 

"I need to go into last time with you." He takes a deep breath and leans forward. "You've watched Donna and me for years. You know, better than anyone else, what she means to me; what we mean to each other." I nod. "What happened on Election night was unplanned and unexpected, but I don't regret a second of it. I finally had Donna in my life the way I always wanted, but I still thought that I could run your campaign and with a little finesse get her to come out here with me and marry her here." 

"You planned on getting married back in November?" I repeat. 

He gives me a look like I'm stupid. "Are you kidding me? By the time you left my apartment in the early hours following Election Day, I was already planning how I'd get her to agree to marry me." 

"Wait a second. She was in your apartment when…She was there the whole time? That's why I couldn't get either of you to answer your phones?" 

"Seriously Sam, given a choice between making love with Donna and talking to you on the phone?" 

"Yeah, no brainer." I agree. 

"Then when we got back for Thanksgiving, I thought I'd talk her into a California wedding and we'd all be on the beach together helping you get elected. Instead, we found out Donna was pregnant." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him the question that's been burning in my heart for weeks. "Did you think I wouldn't understand that you wanted to stay with Donna? Instead you came back here but you were like a zombie. Everything was chaotic. Everything was a mess. Why didn't you just tell me?" 

The waitress interrupts this tense moment by placing an American breakfast platter in front of Josh and the soup/salad combo in front of me. Once she left, he continued his story. 

"When we found out Donna was pregnant…well, it wouldn't be overstating things to say we both freaked out a bit. I was afraid Donna would think I only wanted to stay with her because of the baby. Donna was petrified that the baby would make me feel trapped as well as ruin my career and cause a scandal. She announced that she wasn't keeping the baby." 

"Josh…" I can't even imagine the heartache he must have felt. "How did you talk her out of it?" 

"I didn't. I came back here with you determined to respect her decision even while it made me physically ill. Then one day we were talking on the phone and she told me she'd made an appointment at one of those…clinics for Friday, the 12th." 

"The day you booked it back to D.C. The day that horrible poll came out." I put it together now. 

He nods again, and starts to dig into his pancakes. "I got back to D.C. to find Donna sobbing on my steps. She couldn't go through with it. I swear, Sam, I'd never been more relieved in my entire life. We talked some things out and decided we wanted to stay together and raise the baby together. I was sure I'd be able to convince her to come back with me to California that Monday, but then she got sick; very sick. She was passed out, had been vomiting blood and I couldn't wake her up. I had to call an ambulance to come." 

I'm too captivated by his story to take a bite of food, so I push it aside. "You must have been terrified." 

"You have no idea." Josh shoved another forkful of food in his mouth. "When I called you to tell you I'd be delayed, we only knew that Donna had this serious complication. She was freaking out that I brought her to the hospital, that she might lose the baby, and that the press were going to barge in at any moment and accuse us of sexual misconduct in the White House. She made me promise not to tell anyone what was wrong; especially since things with the baby were so precarious. Do you understand now why I couldn't tell you?" 

"I think so." I tell him. 

"Maybe you can't understand unless you've been through it yourself. The most important thing was keeping Donna calm and healthy; nothing else mattered at all. So I did what she asked and kept it all a secret. She did a little better for awhile, but after we got back from California, things went very bad and she had to take an ambulance from the White House to G.W. There was no way to keep the secret anymore after that." 

"No, the headlines made that impossible." I concur. 

"This is all by way of saying that I'm in a different place now; we're in a different place now. I'll understand if you'd prefer not to have me front and center on this, but I'd like to stay and try to help for this last push." 

"It means a lot to me that you came. Front and center works just fine for me. This campaign has been a little unconventional from the start. Why not throw you into the mix?" I chuckle. "The polls are all over the place. Webb took a serious hit, but we're getting tagged with some of the blowback for playing this card. Webb's son has been on every news station in town claiming that I've destroyed his family with these allegations. The electorate doesn't seem   
enthused about either choice, although my honest and trustworthy numbers are up and Webb's are down." 

"At this point? It's all about the turnout." Josh expounds around a mouthful of eggs. "We need to know increase your turnout and suppress Webb's. For that we need the new numbers Ella's going to get us and the street by street counts Joel's putting together. I don't buy your 5 point lead. It's soft and unreliable. We'll have a more accurate number by this time tomorrow." 

"Will that give us enough time? 5 days before the election?" I ask, dreading the answer. 

"Maybe not in the hands of lesser mortals, but you've got Josh Lyman on your team." He smiles and for the first time in a long time, I feel optimistic. 

****************************************** 

"You seem awfully relaxed for an Election Day." I tell him. 

"He's going to have it by 2." Josh smirks before he pops another chip into his mouth. "Besides, I prefer to focus my anxiousness on what's happening tomorrow." 

"Why? Is there something important going on tomorrow?" I ask. 

"The most important thing happens tomorrow. This is just a preview of the good things to come." He pulls me into his arms and kisses me in front of the campaign staff like we're alone in our hotel room. "God, I missed you, Donna." 

"I missed you too, but maybe we could save this for later when we have a little privacy?" I suggest. 

"I wanted to go back to our room hours ago, but you just went on and on about being here for Sam." He reminds me. 

"Because he's in the middle of a very tight election." I point out. 

"He's got it by 2!" He reminds me. 

"The talking heads say not." I point to where CNN and MSNBC are talking about a photo finish. 

"That's who you're putting your faith in? The talking heads and not your future husband?" See, he talks like he's all offended, but he's laughing while he's saying it and kissing his way down my neck at the same time. 

"They have some pretty compelling stats." I note. 

"Stats, shmats. It's all about the turnout, Donnatella Lyman, and our turn out effort is going to have Sam Seaborn elected to Congress by 2 points." He's got his tongue in my ear now and it makes me shiver. 

"Leave the poor woman alone, Joshua. She's not Donnatella Lyman yet, and you'd be smart not to scare her off before you get that legally binding agreement." Sarah Lyman intrudes on us. 

"Go away Mom." Josh turns his attention back to me. 

"Joshua!" I hit him on the shoulder. 

"I mean, it's great to see you Mom. Wouldn't you like to go check out the view from the room I booked for you?" 

"No." Sarah refutes. 

"Better still, don't you think Donna and I should go check out the view from the hotel room I booked for us?" Josh changes tactics midstream. 

"Donna's not sharing a room with you Joshua." Sarah corrects him. "She's staying with me tonight." 

"Excuse me?" Josh stops all activity to focus on the unhappy news Sarah is sharing with him. 

"It's bad luck to see the Bride before the wedding, so Donna is going to stay with me tonight." Sarah repeats. 

"But we've been apart for days!" Josh protests. 

"That was your choice." Sarah points out. Have I mentioned I adore my soon to be mother-in-law? I decide to stay out of this and simply take notes on how she handles him. 

"We're not some young kids, here, Mom. If you're afraid we might `anticipate our wedding vows' I think that train has already left the station." Josh shoots back. 

"Of that, I am already aware; as is most of the population in the US." Sarah returns the volley nicely. "And as thrilled as I am to be expecting my long awaited grandchild soon, you've already almost screwed this up on more occasions than I can count, so tonight Donna will stay with me so that you don't have any more opportunities to do so before you exchange vows tomorrow." 

I can see Josh searching for a comeback on that one and his mouth keeps opening and shutting, but no sounds come out. 

"Stop doing your trout imitation and pay attention to Sam's results." Sarah orders. 

"He's won it by 2!" Josh insists, glad to be on solid ground again. "It's all about the turnout." 

"It's going to be a squeaker tonight, Jim." Says an announcer on TV. "It's all going to depend on who turned out today." 

"At least they got it half right." Josh mutters into the can of beer he's decided to gulp down in sexual frustration. I kiss the back of his neck and get a twitch of his lips in response. 

"I had plans for tonight, Donnatella. Big, incredible plans filled with romance and hot sex." He complains. 

"I'm sorry to be missing them." I admit. "But I promised your mom. And we can just postpone your big, incredible plans until tomorrow night. I think they'll be even better then." 

He turns to face me. "I guess." I let him pull me closer for another incredible kiss. It seems like the least I can do. 

"This is the start of something amazing tonight, Joshua. The wedding, the baby…Sam's run…" 

And as if my words conjure the results… 

"We are ready to call the special election in the California 47th, Jim. Based on our exit results, it looks like the 47th has a new Congressman." And the crowd goes wild. Sam joins us and spins me around before claiming a victory kiss. Then he and Josh simply stare at each other smiling before Toby pulls Sam aside to hand him one of the two speeches he'd prepared for the night. I'm happy for Sam. Of course I am. But the tears streaming down my face are because the last of the strain between these two dear friends has been erased. Now I'm ready to get married. 

TBC.


	17. Cardinal Rules

“So, what’s going on?” I demand as I watch her putter around the room gathering up her stuff. 

“What do you mean?” Oh, Donnatella, that’s amateur. You can do evasive better than that. 

“You’re considering Sam’s offer.” I state bluntly. She looks at me and shrugs, then busies herself shoving stuff back into her suitcase to bring to my mother’s room. While we’re on that subject, there’s no way I’m sleeping without her tonight. I did it the last few nights and it sucked. 

Sam offered both of us a spot on his staff. I immediately said thanks but no thanks; Donna hesitated and then said she’d think about it. This caused immediate unrest in me. 

“Donna.” I can’t keep the hurt out of my voice. 

“Don’t use that tone.” She says. 

“What tone?” 

“The ‘I’m so helpless tone.’” 

“I have an I’m so helpless tone?” 

“Yes, and that’s it.” 

“But Donna…” I continue to whine. “I need you at the White House.” 

“No you don’t. You’re used to me at the White House. I don’t do anything that someone else can’t do.” 

“That’s patently not true.” I insist. 

“You’re getting along just fine without me now.” 

“I’m getting along; I’m not just fine.” I retort. “Shelia takes care of the schedule and answers the phone. She does not do research, she does not brief me, she does not know how to read CJ’s mood.” 

“Have you asked her to do research to brief you on something?” she counters. I stay silent. “That’s what I thought.” 

“She probably won’t use index cards.” 

“You hate my index cards.” 

“Yeah, but they’re you.” I say and she pouts before she crosses the room and hugs me. It’s over. I lost. 

“I want to really discuss this with you, Josh.” She says earnestly. Nope. Nothing to discuss. She’s giving me the look. She gave me that look; I gave her a job. 

“There’s nothing to discuss, Donna.” I say dejectedly and flop down on the bed. “You’re taking the job.” 

“I didn’t say yes.” 

“No, but you’re gonna.” 

“I said I’d think about it.” 

“Why?” I ask bluntly. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Why would you want to take the job? In the White House, you’re married to your boss. You can manipulate him any time you want. That won’t be the case on the Hill with Sam.” 

“Well, shorter hours.” 

“Not for a freshman Congressman.” 

“Who’s already proved himself to the White House.” 

“Not to the other 534 members of Congress.” 

“Josh, I won’t be doing 12 hour days and you know it.” 

“What else do you have?” I continue. 

“It diverts the attention away, Josh.” She says finally and sits down on the bed. 

“And makes it look like we did something wrong.” 

“I don’t care. There won’t be attention on me, there won’t be attention on you, and most importantly, there won’t be attention on the baby. There’s no interest if I go out on maternity leave and then go work for Sam.” 

“Except they all get to think we’re ashamed.” 

“It’s better than what they think now.” She says quietly and looks down at her hands. I prop myself up on my elbow and sigh heavily. She looks defeated. I don’t like it. 

“You’re not those things though and the President knows it.” 

“I know.” She nods. “But Josh, there’s only so long a person can listen to that kind of stuff said about them and the person they love.” 

I smile sadly at her. She’s tough as nails when it comes to me, but she’s also got a pretty thin skin. There’s nothing I won’t do to make her happy and if that includes letting her go so she can take a job away from the spotlight and the scrutiny of everyone else, then that’s what I’ll have to do. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Josh’s mother sighs as I regurgitate the contents of my fried election night dinner. “Donna, honey, I thought you had medication that’s helping this?” 

“It is.” I groan into the toilet. “It’s a lot worse without it.” 

“Is there anything I can do?” she coos pushing my hair off my face. Josh does that. I want Josh. 

“Decaf tea and crackers from room service.” I croak instead and I hear the shrill ring of my cell phone on the tile floor as his mother leaves the bathroom. 

“`Lo?” I groan. 

“What’s wrong?” Josh immediately demands. 

“I’m sick.” I whine. Screw it. I feel like crap and Josh babies me when I feel like crap. 

“How sick?” Uh oh. He sounds like he’s in motion. 

“Throwing up sick.” 

“Did you take your medicine?” 

“Yes.” 

There’s a pounding on the door and I hurl again. “That can’t possibly be room service.” Sara’s voice says from outside the bathroom. 

“Tell my mother to open the door.” Josh orders. 

“It’s Josh.” I whisper. I’m very tired, and I feel very crappy. 

“Oohh no, Joshua!” She calls through the door. “Rules are rules. You don’t always get your way. Be a big boy and go back to bed!” 

“Tell my mother to open the door or I’m going to get loud.” Josh instructs pounding again. “It’s 1:30 in the morning. It won’t take long for me to get arrested.” 

Instead of speaking I hold my cell phone up in the air and Sara takes it from my hands. “What, Joshua?” Sara demands into the phone. She sighs loudly as Josh must have repeated his threats to his mother and she goes to open the door. Within moments, I’m being gathered into his strong warm arms and he starts stroking my hair. 

“You two are ridiculous, you know that?” Sara chides. “It’s one measly night and you enable each other.” 

Josh’s hand never stops as he tears into his mother. “You know what, mom? Donna’s got the crappy part and it’s even worse than it’s supposed to be. I don’t have to go through anything she does, so the least I can do is make sure she’s got everything she needs and doesn’t have to lift a finger.” 

That’s my man! You tell her, Josh! 

“And I can’t do that for my future daughter in law tonight because why?” 

“Because I’m the baby’s father and you’re not.” He replies. “And I’m sure you’d be fine, mom, but you’re not me.” His voice softens at the end and I curl down further into his chest and close my eyes. 

“I am not leaving this room.” Sara finally relents. “If you’re staying, you’re staying with me.” 

“This is ridiculous.” Josh grumbles picking me up and bringing me to the bed. He groans a bit when he puts me down. I’d be offended, but I’m actually gaining weight and he’s got a bad back from when he was shot, so I can’t really get mad when he does things for me like that that he really shouldn’t. 

“Spare me.” Sara rolls her eyes. 

“It’s antiquated, too.” Josh just continues to bitch as he pulls the blankets down on my bed and I see that he’s already dressed for bed. What a little sneak. He knew what he was doing when I answered the phone; sick or not. “I mean this is the 21st century. Why don’t you just throw on the chastity belt, too. Oops! Too late for that!” 

“Lord give me strength.” Sara sighs. 

“You’re Jewish, ma.” Josh replies, which then elicits a lot of words in Hebrew or maybe it’s Yiddish. I don’t know what they mean, but they don’t sound good. I settle down against Josh and he switches on CNN. 

“Joshua, it’s 1:30 in the morning, you are not taking over.” Sara says firmly. 

“You can go stay in my room, if it bugs you.” 

Sara stomps over and snatches the remote control away from him, then smacks him in the head. 

“Ow!” 

“That’s for sassing your mother.” 

“That hurt.” 

“It was supposed to.” 

She switches off CNN as there’s a knock on the door. “That’s Donna’s room service.” Sara disappears and Josh turns to face me. 

“I’m getting tortured for you.” 

“It’s a turn on.” I smile and place an open mouthed kiss on his neck. 

“Don’t do that. That’s not fair. My mother’s here.” 

“Sorry.” 

“These hormones of yours are completely out of control. I’m not a piece of meat, you know.” He tries to look indignant, but falls very short, and is no match for my knowing look. “Okay. I really don’t have a problem with being a piece of meat.” 

“I didn’t think so.” 

“Donna, tea and crackers.” Sara says walking back with a tray and Josh hops up to help her. Sara looks surprised at her son’s actions. I can’t say I blame her. Josh putting anyone before himself took some getting used to, too, but once I realized it was genuine, I sat back and enjoyed it. 

But Sara sends Josh another disgruntled glare when he stretches out on his stomach on the bed and turns CNN back on to watch the election coverage. Sam’s the hot topic. 

“What?” Josh asks. “She’s eating right now. I’ll turn it off when she’s done.” 

“Is it me, or is Webb’s family kinda creepy looking?” I ask Josh. 

“They look like they’re carved out of cheese.” He replies. 

“They don’t look happy.” I note. 

“No, of course not.” Josh says. “The entire country knows Webb’s scum now and now Mrs. Webb doesn’t even get to say she’s a Congressman’s wife. The kid’s going to get speeding tickets just like everyone else now. I wouldn’t imagine things are not happy in their house at all.” 

I finish my tea and crackers and I feel better. I think I may even keep them down. Josh is as good as his word. When he sees me move the cup and plate to the nightstand, he shuts off the television and climbs under the covers with me. 

“I really don’t know how you do it, Joshua.” His mother grumbles shaking her head. 

“It’s called persistence, mother.” 

“It’s called being a pain in the ass.” She shoots back. 

“Whatever, I still won.” He retorts. Josh has always done whatever it takes to win. He’s not always proud of the methods he employs, but if there’s a greater good to the win in the end, he reconciles himself with it. 

But that’s not really the case here. It’s just him wanting to spend the night with me after being parted for a few days. Tomorrow, this man will be my husband. I never thought it would happen. I guess it still has yet to happen, but with the President of the United States here and the Secret Service lurking about, I’m confident it’ll go off without a hitch. 

Always remember the most important cardinal rule: Never settle when it comes to love. If it’s meant to be it will be…eventually… 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I kiss my way down the back of Donna’s beautifully exposed neck and my hand slides over the satin of her dress and along the gentle swell of her stomach. She giggles and gives me a half-hearted shove as she tries to open the door to our suite. 

She is Mrs. Donnatella Lyman. The mother of my child, who is giving her an endless amount of grief, so there’s no denying I’m the father, and she has just agreed to be bound to me for eternity. 

Do things get better than this? I don’t know. 

Oh yeah. My best friend’s going to Congress. 

The ceremony was beautiful. I damn near cried. When Donna came out onto the beach on her father’s arm, I barely held it together. She’s in a simple white satin dress and her hair is up and she’s not wearing any shoes, much to Matt’s extreme displeasure. She said she didn’t want to wear heels in the sand and sandals would end up with sand in them anyway, so she figured why bother? 

Any other bride would have just moved the whole damn thing indoors so she could wear the shoes, but not my bride. 

I never thought this day would come. I never thought that I’d end up with someone like Donna. Someone who’s sweet, caring, funny, passionate, quirky, loves me for me and not where my career is going; honestly, I just assumed I’d end up with some ambitious megabitch that ended up being completely unfaithful as she power slept her way through Washington. I never once thought I’d land a girl the caliber of Donna. 

We step into the room and she kicks off her shoes (she eventually put them back on inside). Her back is to me, so I slide up to her again and immediately go back to work on her shoulders. She sighs and drops her head to the other side. 

“Josh?” 

“Mmm.” 

“Do you think Sam’s all right?” 

What the hell? 

“Sam?” 

“He seemed a little off tonight.” 

“He’s probably freaked out about going to Congress. He didn’t think he was going to win.” 

“Maybe.” 

“Let’s not talk about Sam.” I say. 

“Kay.” She smiles, dropping her head to the other side so I have access to this delicious side of her neck. I work my way out of most of my clothes during this bit here. 

I’m a big fan of this particular position. I love getting to kiss her soft skin while my hands get to play in all sorts of wonderful places. She’s starting to squirm against me though, so I unzip the dress and it slides to the floor. It probably costs a few thousand dollars, but she kicks it aside like a prom dress anyway. 

I turn her up against the wall and she captures my lips. The kiss is hungry and one of my hands comes up to her face, while the other is fumbling around on her back looking for the clasps to get this contraption she’s got on off. When I’m finally successful and everything else follows, she hooks her leg around my hip and pulls me towards her. 

No words are exchanged as the heat between us gets cranked up a notch. I drop down to my knees and hook that same leg over my shoulder and she groans, dropping her head back against the wall. 

I take my time, though this is killing my knees, and she grabs the nearby bathroom doorframe. She’s loud as her orgasm slams through her and I kiss my way up her body. She locks her eyes with mine, drapes her arms around my shoulders and hops up, hooking her legs around my waist. 

Heading to bed now! 

I lay her down and crawl right on top of her. I waste no time sliding in, reveling in her moans. Her fingers softly fall along my skin and I’m practically blinded by the diamond on her finger, but it’s joined now by a wedding band, identical to mine. My thumb keeps going over to my ring finger and sliding along the ring there. It’s an odd feeling, but one I think I’m going to like getting used to. 

Our rhythm is slow and lazy tonight. We’re not in any rush. We have our whole lives together. It’s strange that the biggest part of my life doesn’t really have a concrete plan. Love this woman, love my child that she carries, provide for them forever. Doesn’t sound too hard. 

She cries out my name and her fingers dig into my shoulders. It’s not long before I follow, but instead of saying her name, I tell her I love her. I didn’t mean to, it just sort of slipped out, but it must have been right because she’s got tears in her eyes. 

“I love you, too.” She whispers. 

We shimmy ourselves around until we manage to get under the covers and I pull her close to me. 

“Joshua?” she says softly into the darkness. 

“Yes, Donnatella?” 

“You know Election Night?” 

“Uh huh.” 

“I wasn’t near as drunk as I made it out to be.” 

“Donnatella?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Neither was I.” 

Cardinal Rule: Never assume your soulmate isn’t as clever as you. 

THE END


	18. Cardinal Rules

Epilogue 

No, no, no. It can't be the baby again. He was just up like 3 hours ago! If it hadn't been apparent by the curly brown hair and dimples, this child's incessant bellowing for me would be proof positive that this is Josh's child. That's another thing; I carry the child for 9 months, I'm sick as hell the whole time, and out comes the spitting image of Josh! What the hell? 

I blearily get up from where I'd been trying to nap on the couch. When you have a new baby, everyone tells you to sleep when the baby sleeps. It's a good idea in theory, but in reality, it just doesn't work. When I finally get the baby down, I need to eat, do laundry and a host of other things that need to be done. Josh has tried to help, but he's only around at nights and on weekends and honestly, we're both so exhausted that if he's able to get sleep while he's home, I'm inclined to just let him sleep. 

Looking back, perhaps the mistake was in thinking that we could handle a newborn infant and moving into a new house all at once. I believed that with my exceptional organizational and research skills, that I could handle a move to our new house 3 months after the baby was born. 

When I said I could handle all the details of a move to a new house along with caring for a newborn infant? I may have been overstating things a bit. 

Wow. Our child is very loud. 

"Shhhhh…shhhh… Noah. Mommy's here. It's okay now." I pick him up and hold him to me, unsure yet if he is   
genuinely hungry or if he just wants attention. You'd think after almost 12 weeks, I'd have it all down pat. But just like his father, Noah Thomas Lyman has the ability to flummox me. It becomes clear very quickly that he wants to eat so I settle into our rocking chair in his beautiful new nursery. I look over at the clock and see that I've got about 5 hours before the hordes descend. 

Not a horde exactly, just a conglomeration of our friends and family coming over for a house warming party. It's Saturday, so technically Josh should be home right now, but something came up and he had to take a last minute meeting. His new assistant doesn't quite have a handle on how to schedule him yet, but she's coming along. Most importantly, she doesn't take his crap seriously and she never gets him coffee. 

Josh wasn't happy about my decision to leave the White House to work in Sam's D.C. office, but in the end, he understood my reasoning and supported me. He went through 3 different assistants before we landed on   
Julia. She's bright, organized, and has proven herself to be very valuable. 

I hear the front door slam and I smile. My man is home. 

"Perfect timing Noah, Daddy's home!" I tell our son excitedly. He may not understand everything I say yet, but he gets the tone and gurgles happily while I'm burping him. 

"Hey!" Josh calls from the nursery doorway. He's learned the hard way that he may not bellow for me from downstairs. He did it once and woke up Noah. Let's just say he was sporting bruises from the   
incident for a week. 

"What took you so long?" I ask. 

"The guys a windbag. I got out as soon as I could. Hey, buddy!" he addresses the last to Noah as he takes the baby out of my arms. "Are you ready for our big party today? Lots of people are coming to see you, you know." 

"Technically, they're coming to see the house." I correct him. 

"Nah…that's just an excuse to see my boy." 

"Excuse me?" 

"Our boy. They want to see our boy." Josh is quick to correct himself. 

"That's more like it." I reply and lay my head back against the rocker and close my eyes for just a minute. Maybe now that Josh is home, I can get a quick nap. Josh seems to read my mind. Even though we're not working together anymore, that has never changed. 

"You look wiped. Why don't you get a nap before everyone comes over? Noah and I can hang out and talk sports." They both smile at me with matching dimples; women of the district, beware. 

"I'd love that." I admit. Cardinal Rule; when your husband offers to take care of the baby so you can sleep, let him. "Don't let me sleep too long, though, okay?" 

"We can handle things, Mom. Can't we Noah?" Josh looks to our son like he's going to provide and essay answer to the question. Instead, the child just gurgles again. "See? He says we've got it covered." 

"Right." I drawl. "Just make sure you wake me up by 2. Sam is coming over at 3 and everyone else is due at 4. I need time to get ready before they get here." 

"I can handle Sam by myself." He contradicts me. This is not the first argument we've had about this. Sam wasn't happy about the way he won his Congressional seat, but he was dealing with it okay. He was determined that he'd be a much better representative for the people in the 47th district and that helped take some of the sting out of everything. Then the unthinkable happened. Rather than face criminal   
charges, Chuck Webb took his own life with a handgun. Ironically, it was manufactured by El Diablo. He left behind a disgraced widow, and an extremely angry son. 

The whole episode threw Sam into a depression that he hasn't been able to snap out of. The only times we see him genuinely smiling anymore is when he's with Noah, so we've been including Uncle Sam in as many family activities as we can. Josh likes to think he can cajole Sam out of this funk, but he steps into landmines with it at least as often as he manages to cheer his friend up. He really needs help with this,   
but I'm not going to argue. 

"Sure you can, but I like to spend some time with Sam, too." I say diplomatically. 

"You're just saying that to placate me, right?" He calls to me as I leave the `men' alone in the nursery. 

"Right." I call back before falling into bed and directly into sleep. 

I wake up with a start when I hear strange voices; male and female. It takes me a moment, but then I identify them. It's Sam and Ainsley. My head turns in alarm to the digital clock on the bedside table; 3:11   
p.m. Joshua! I'm going to kill him. 

In a panic, I grab the dress I picked out earlier, throw it on and pull my hair back into a pony tail. I only take enough time to add some lipstick and mascara before I rush into the nursery to see Sam, Ainsley,   
and the fink I married standing over the crib, admiring my son. 

They must hear my breathless arrival because they all turn to greet me. 

"There she is." Sam smiles. "You look beautiful." 

"I'm a mess." I correct him and throw daggers at my husband who stares back at me innocently. "SOMEONE was supposed to wake me over an hour ago so I had time to get ready." I kiss Sam's cheek and turn to Ainsley. "Ainsley, I'm so glad you could make it too." 

"I'm delighted to be included. Don't be too hard on Josh, Donna. He was just sharing how he hadn't been able to help much the last few days and wanted you to get as much rest as possible before the gang arrived." Ainsley explained. "Guys don't understand that women like to have a little preparation time to get themselves organized." 

"Donna doesn't need organization time. She has everything managed down to the last detail." Josh brags in an attempt to get out of the doghouse with me. It doesn't work. "It isn't easy to get Secret Service to approve the President and First Lady's trip   
to a private home." 

"I can only imagine." Ainsley agrees. "But seeing to the details has always been one of Donna's gifts." 

"She's the only thing that's stood between Josh and disaster on more occasions than I can count." Sam teases. 

"I don't feel like it." I admit. "The lack of sleep and the stress of moving has really taken its' toll on my brain." 

"That's perfectly normal." Ainsley assures me. "Both my sisters went through the same thing when they had their children." 

"How long does it go on for?" I ask, dreading the answer. 

"Well, my oldest niece is nearly 11, and it hasn't stopped yet." Ainsley tells me. 

"Terrific." I drawl with a smile. 

"Let's focus on today." Ainsley determines. "What can we do to help you get ready?" 

"There really shouldn't be much. The caterer takes care of the food, the dishes, the cutlery; everything." I explain. 

"That's perfect." Sam cuts in. "You've had enough on your plate between the baby, the new house, and working part time for my office to be doing all that yourself." 

"What time are they supposed to be here?" Josh asks. "I mean, shouldn't they be here by now if the rest of our guests are coming at 4?" 

"Well, yes." I answer, puzzled. "That's strange isn't it? I better give them a call." I disappear into the   
bedroom to place the call and find out what the delay is. 

Five minutes later, Josh comes into our room to find me hanging up the phone with tears running down my face. 

"Donna? What's wrong, baby?" He asks as he turns me toward him. 

"They're not coming." I tell him. 

"Who's not coming? The Bartlet's?" he guesses. 

"I wish! No, the caterers; they're not coming." I say a little too loudly. 

"What? Why not?" 

"Because…because…" I can't finish the sentence and it's way too late to call everyone and cancel. 

"Talk to me Donna. Why aren't they coming?" 

"Because…I forgot to call and confirm the arrangements. I had until a certain day and time to confirm everything and when I didn't, they cancelled everything." I wail. "We have about 40 guests coming to our home in 30 minutes, including the President and   
First Lady! What am I going to do?" 

"Shit." Josh replies and sends me into another fit of tears. "Hold on. Wait. First of all, we're going to fix this together, so just take a deep breath. Now think. Where else can we get some food and beverages?" 

"That have already been vetted by the Secret Service?" I ask. "Nowhere. And even if there were someplace, we don't even have a plate or cup to serve it in." 

"I hadn't thought of that." Josh admits. This is absolutely horrible. We are totally screwed. The only thing that could make this worse is if Noah woke up while we were trying to sort this out. 

On cue, Josh's child lets out an incredible wail. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Okay. This is about to be very messy. Donna looks like she's dangling at the end of a very frayed rope. 

"I'll get the baby!" Sam calls from the living room. Thank God for Sam's incessant need to be branded favorite uncle. He and Noah have very long one-sided conversations. I'd make fun of him, but I do, too. Noah's easy to tell stuff to. 

"Donna…" 

"What. Are. We. Going. To. Do?" She punctuates each word. Bad. Sign. 

"Baby, don't have a nutty." I immediately dive in for damage control. 

"The President of the United States of America and the First Lady are coming to our house ANY MINUTE and they'll be joined by about 20 of our closest friends and family and we have absolutely nothing to feed   
these people. Why is it, exactly, that I shouldn't have a nutty? What part of this situation from HELL is not nutty worthy, Josh? This was not a pot luck party! I DO NOT forget things, Josh! But my brain seems to have fallen out of my head and since I do not HAVE a brain right now, I don't really know where to start to look for it! Furthermore --" 

"No! Not furthermore." I put both of my hands in her upper arms and lead her backwards until she sits on the bed. "I am going to fix this." 

"How?" She's not the slightest bit curious. She thinks it's impossible. 

"Donna, this is what I do. I fix things." 

She lets out what can only be described as a guffaw. 

"What the hell is that for?" I demand indignantly. 

"Joshua, you cause mass chaos wherever you go. You fix things, yes, but not this kind of stuff." 

"I'm on it." I say and leave the room. 

"Where are you going?" she demands and she's immediately falling into step with me as I move down our upstairs hallway towards the office. Right here, right now it strikes me how much I truly miss her at the White House. 

"I'm going to make a phone call." I say simply. "You go back to the bedroom and do whatever it is you do when you're getting ready, or make sure Sam and Ainsley are okay with the baby. I've got this under control." 

"So help me, Joshua, if pizza or Chinese enters this house when the President of the United States is in it…" she starts. 

"No take out. I promise." Even though the President loves both those cuisines. 

"What are you going to do?" She asks arching a brow. 

"I'm going to fix it and you're not going worry your beautiful mind one more second over it." 

She's extremely wary and backs away slowly. I don't blame her. First of all, she's exhausted; secondly, I've almost set the White House on fire and invented a secret plan to fight inflation. Fixing things often won't go my way, but I've got a fool proof plan and let me tell you, it's one that she's not going to like at all. 

I go into the office and close the door. I pick up the phone and dial. After a few minutes of threatening some jobs, I'm finally put through the private line in the Residence where I proceed to dump the entire problem into Abbey's lap. 

"DONNA forgot?" she asks incredulously. "That's not something Donna forgets, Josh. Surely she delegated this to you and this is your screw up." 

"Unfortunately, Mrs. B., this one's not me." I sigh. "Donna is so incredibly exhausted. She put the milk in the pantry yesterday. She's firing on one very battered cylinder." 

"Noah's three months old. He'll sleep through the night any day now." Abbey assures. 

"In the meantime, Donna's forgetting to confirm caterers." 

"What is it you want me to do?" Abbey asks. 

"Dr. B! You're Abigail Bartlet! You're the First Lady of the United States. You're America's hostess. You've got to know someone I can call on extremely short notice who's been vetted by the Secret Service." 

"You want them to feed 25 people in an hour!" 

"Yes, I know." 

"Josh, you cause destruction everywhere you go." Abbey spits out. 

"In my defense, I'm aware of that." 

"Well, I don't know…" she starts. "Oh wait, yes, I do." 

"You have someone?" 

"I do. I'll take care of it, Josh." 

"Donna ordered all the plates, glasses and silverware from the caterer, too." I supply. 

"Of course she did." Abbey sighs. "I can take care of that, too." 

"You're an angel, Abbey." 

"Uh-huh." She says. "We're going to be a little late now." 

"S'okay with me." I say and disconnect the call. The wife of the leader of the free world is now on food prep for my housewarming party. 

Isn't this country great? 

I saunter back down to the bedroom where Donna is hurling clothes out of the closet over her shoulder and onto the bed. 

"I fixed it!" I announce triumphantly entering the bedroom. 

"Already? What'd you do?" 

"Fixed it." I shrug. 

"And it's not pizza and it's not Chinese?" 

"Well, I didn't make that stipulation." I confess. "But I'm pretty sure it's not going to be pizza or Chinese." 

"And it's not going to be paper plates and plastic forks?" 

"I highly doubt it." 

"Who'd you call?" she asks cocking her head to the side. 

"A friend." I'm intentionally vague. When Abbey and the President show up with the food, Donna's going to punch me. 

"Well…okay, I guess." She says. 

"I'm going to get the baby." I say hooking a thumb over my shoulder and heading out of the bedroom. 

I find Sam and Ainsley whispering in the living room. They came here together. That's kind of odd. I always wondered why Sam didn't ask her out when he worked at the White House. They remind me a lot of me and Donna, which is why I guess I can overlook the Republican bit. 

Sam's not happy when I liberate my son from him. Too bad. I went through a lot for this kid and I don't feel bad about hogging him. When I look at him now, I can't bear to think that there was ever the possibility that he might not have been here. But in hindsight, I should have known that Donna would never have gone through with it, but we were both in very emotional places then, so it's tough to say, I guess. 

Donna's been feeling great since he's been born, albeit very tired. She's only working part-time for Sam right now, but she plans on going back to work full-time soon. 

Sam took this Webb thing hard. He wasn't happy with the way he won. I've tried to convince him that how he won isn't as important as what he does with it. Whether or not he's re-elected is the true test, and the people of Orange County really deserved to know what kind of guy they had there. But Sam's not like that, so he's going to have to come to terms with it in his own time, I guess. 

I'm strangely looking forward to the day my office and Sam's has to interact, or more importantly Donna and my office have to interact. She'll employ all my tricks against me, I'm sure, and when that doesn't work, just resort to getting to me through just the normal course of being married to her. Am I some kind of masochist for looking forward to that? 

Getting adjusted to a baby in the house has been quite the eye opening experience. It's like we can't do anything right. I don't know if it's just new parent syndrome or if it's just the old adage of whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. If Donna gets the baby to   
sleep, I'll come home, not know he's asleep and accidentally slam the door. Donna took him to the store with her, didn't anticipate the length of time she'd actually be gone in relation to his mealtime and he started to wail throughout the store. 

The doorbell rings and I smile down to Noah and pass him off to Ainsley to open the door. 

"Uh, Josh?" she says trying to get my attention. 

"Just a sec." 

I move to the door and when I open it, CJ, Toby, my mother, Leo, Ginger, Margaret, Carol, Bonny, Ed, Larry, Matt and Mike are all standing there. 

"What'd you guys take a party bus over?" I smirk. 

They all look at me, then down at my chest. I look down at my shirt. There's baby spit up all over it. 

My friends, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. 

And that's Murphy's Law. 

THE END


End file.
